A former WeGo Public Transit bus driver has sued the transit agency and Davidson Transit Organization, claiming she was fired weeks after filing a federal safety complaint over an April 2025 incident in which she says her bus's emergency panic button failed while a passenger flashed a knife near schoolchildren. Candice McEwen alleges the firing was retaliation for reporting the malfunction, while the transit organization maintains she was let go for a string of traffic and policy violations uncovered during an internal investigation.
According to WKRN News 2, McEwen was driving a bus carrying school children on April 25, 2025, when passengers began discussing a passenger with a knife, per a police report cited in the lawsuit. McEwen says she pressed the emergency button to alert dispatch, but per the police report the button did not work during the incident. She then moved the juvenile passenger to the front of the bus, according to the report, and drove directly to the Elizabeth Duff Transit Center at WeGo Central rather than waiting for the alleged threat to escalate.
Driver Says She Called Police Herself
McEwen called the police herself, and a report was later filed with the Metro Nashville Police Department in May 2025. Per the police report, the suspect left on another bus before officers arrived, and McEwen has said she did not see a knife herself. She has said she protected somebody's kids and reported the incident because employees were instructed to report such incidents, according to the WKRN report.
McEwen filed an incident report following the encounter and later filed a formal complaint with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, alleging she was retaliated against for raising safety concerns. She was placed on administrative leave and, according to the lawsuit, was terminated less than a month after filing the OSHA complaint. McEwen has said she had a clean two-year record with the company before filing the report.
DTO Cites Traffic Violations, Chain-of-Command Breach
Davidson Transit Organization, the nonprofit labor and employment arm that directly employs WeGo's bus drivers and maintenance staff, conducted an internal investigation into the April 2025 incident and says it found multiple violations. Per DTO documents, the organization accused McEwen of speeding at 45 mph in a 25 mph zone, running red lights on two occasions, failing to yield to a pedestrian at a transit center crosswalk, and using a mobile device while driving in violation of Tennessee's hands-free law under Tennessee Code Annotated § 55-8-199, which bars motorists from holding or using a phone behind the wheel. DTO also alleges McEwen breached the corporate chain of command by reporting the incident to outside parties.
McEwen has said the alleged traffic and policy violations either occurred during the emergency itself or were minor infractions. DTO was established in December 1992 as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit to serve as the direct employer for WeGo and the Metropolitan Transit Authority of Nashville and Davidson County, a structure that means employment disputes like McEwen's are filtered through DTO's internal policies rather than direct city civil service procedures.
Case Moves to Federal Court After 210-Day Wait
McEwen filed her lawsuit in the Middle District of Tennessee after pursuing her claims through OSHA first. Under whistleblower provisions of the National Transit Systems Security Act, codified at 6 U.S.C. § 1142, public transportation workers who report safety or security concerns are protected from employer retaliation, and they may seek de novo review in federal court if OSHA fails to issue a final ruling within 210 days. The administrative process passed that 210-day mark without a final decision, according to the lawsuit, which is how McEwen's complaint made its way to federal district court for a jury trial rather than remaining stuck in agency review.
She is seeking reinstatement, back pay, compensatory damages, and recovery of her legal fees. The lawsuit's allegations remain unproven in court. McEwen experienced reduced wages and hours and says she was wrongfully investigated, while WeGo has said it was aware of the inquiry about the lawsuit and provided a statement to News 2.
WeGo and DTO Respond
In its statement, Davidson Transit Organization said it takes seriously its obligations to employees and workplace safety, and that it is committed to conducting its business lawfully and responsibly. The organization said it believes its employment decision was lawful and made for legitimate business reasons, and it denies wrongdoing or retaliation in connection with the decision. DTO added that it will not discuss details of current or former employees in a public forum and will not comment on the specific allegations, filings, or related materials while litigation is pending, saying instead that it intends to address the matters through appropriate legal and regulatory channels.
Lawsuit Lands Amid Broader Safety Push
The lawsuit surfaces as Metro Nashville has ramped up spending and staffing around transit safety following a string of violent incidents on WeGo buses. In February 2025, the Metropolitan Transit Authority Board approved a $6.3 million security expansion, including a multi-year contract with Archangel Protective Services that increased security coverage hours by 67% across WeGo facilities and buses, a move that followed a 14-month national transportation safety review conducted with input from Metro Nashville Police, according to WeGo Public Transit. That same month, Mayor Freddie O'Connell and Police Chief John Drake appointed Captain Brian Williams as the department's first permanent transit liaison and outlined plans for a 29-officer transit policing division, a plan that required final Metro Council approval, as Hoodline has previously reported.
Violent incidents aboard WeGo buses have continued even as those measures rolled out. In February 2026, Metro Nashville Police investigated a physical assault in which a female WeGo bus driver was punched in the head and had her bus window broken by a fleeing suspect at the Elizabeth Duff Transit Center, according to WZTV FOX 17 News. More recently, in August 2026, police arrested a 41-year-old man on two felony counts of aggravated assault after he allegedly pulled a six-inch butcher knife on security officers aboard a downtown WeGo bus near Representative John Lewis Way and Demonbreun Street. WeGo now operates more than 200 digital surveillance cameras across its fleet and transit hubs to document incidents for law enforcement, though officials acknowledge the cameras aid investigations after the fact rather than stopping active violence in the moment.
The safety debate comes as WeGo posts its strongest ridership numbers in over a decade. The agency recorded 10.6 million annual passenger rides in August 2026, its highest annual total in 11 years, driven by route expansions and contactless fare upgrades. Bus operators and maintenance staff are represented by Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1235, which has previously staged public demonstrations and issued votes of no confidence over driver safety, understaffing, and tight scheduling, according to WPLN News. Whether video footage will confirm McEwen's account that the panic button malfunctioned, and whether her traffic infractions were justified responses to an active threat, remain open questions as the case proceeds in federal court.
