“Maybe there’s too much negative energy,” Wang Chenshuang, 30, a resident of Chongqing who works in the education industry, said by telephone. “It’s surprising.”

Two people who were on the bus are still missing, and no survivors have been found, the police said.

The authorities said the woman, surnamed Liu, 48, began hitting the driver, surnamed Ran, 42, after she missed her stop and he refused to let her off.

Much of the fury on Friday played out online, where internet users said they were outraged that Ms. Liu and Mr. Ran would allow a petty fight to endanger the lives of so many people. They called on the government to do more to protect bus drivers.