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An OC Transpo driver was punched in the face Friday afternoon by a passenger who was angered by the bus operator’s refusal to drop him off between regular stops.

The assailant forced open the doors and fled after hitting the driver in the face, possibly breaking his nose.

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Ottawa police and paramedics responded to the emergency call during Friday’s rush hour. The bus operator had by then stopped his vehicle on St. Laurent Boulevard and Tremblay Road.

Troy Charter, OC Transpo’s director of transit operations, said the incident happened at about 4:30 p.m.

“While at an intersection, a customer asked the bus driver to disembark,” Charter said in a statement. “When the operator responded that it was unsafe to let them off in an intersection, the passenger struck the operator and exited the bus.”

Both Ottawa police and OC Transpo’s special constables are still investigating the incident. The assailant, last seen walking south on St. Laurent, had not been arrested by Friday night.