I cannot think of a more horrible way to start the new year than being abandoned in freezing weather with no way to call for help. Such was the case of Ed Wynn Rivera, a 22-year-old man with cerebral palsy who was left on a bus overnight in frigid temperatures. The driver has not yet been charged with a crime connected to this incident but arguably, had no business driving a bus due to his lengthy criminal record. The driver, Walter Gibbs, 42, has been busted 28 times for various crimes including assault on a police officer and grand larceny. The bus company’s website boasts that drivers are “randomly drug tested, fingerprinted, background checked and with no criminal background.” Obviously, the bus company is either misrepresenting their vetting process or are running completely inadequate checks on their prospective employees. Either way, there is no excuse for an incident like this to happen.
Driver who left disabled man on bus has been busted 28 times
By Alison Gendar and Rich Schapiro, Daily News Writers – January 4, 2009
The bus driver who left a severely disabled Manhattan man stranded inside his frozen vehicle for 17 hours is a career thug with a rap sheet 28 arrests long – including a collar for assaulting a cop.
Walter Gibbs, 42, an employee of Outstanding Transport, also has been busted on numerous drug charges and for grand larceny, police sources said Saturday.
Cops quizzed Gibbs for hours after Ed Wynn Rivera, a 22-year-old with cerebral palsy, was abandoned in the rear of his frigid bus on Dec. 31. It was Gibbs’ second day on the job.
