GREENFIELD — A crowdfunding page has been set up to support the family allegedly attacked by a Franklin Regional Transit Authority (FRTA) bus driver last week, as well as a petition seeking to charge the driver with a hate crime.
Vanessa Brewster set up a GoFundMe page at bit.ly/3dUiVas to raise money for anything Erik Rudder and his two sons might need following the June 4 incident, during which 38-year-old Gill resident Steven Connell allegedly assaulted Rudder after veering his bus off Main Street in pursuit of the family. Rudder and his sons are black.
Brewster, a friend of Rudder’s for 16 years since they worked together at The People’s Pint, said another friend showed her a picture of the crash soon after the incident, and she later saw Rudder’s Facebook post recounting the experience. Rudder’s post can be viewed on the GoFundMe page.
“After yelling expletives at me and my boys as we were getting off the bus, he then used the bus as a weapon and tried to hit us,” Rudder writes of Connell. “We are physically OK. Just shaken up a lot.”
In the post, Rudder also asked for advice on how to obtain legal counsel, and thanked the Greenfield Police and Fire departments, which he said “performed admirably and were extremely helpful in getting the situation under control.”
After seeing the posts, Brewster said she took it upon herself to create the GoFundMe page because she doesn’t believe the burden should be placed on Rudder.
“I consider myself an anti-racist activist and I’m sick of what’s going on,” she said in reference to racist attacks by police and civilians across the United States.
Brewster started the page with a $5,000 goal and has increased it as donations have poured in. As of 3 p.m. on Tuesday, $19,199 of the current $25,000 goal had been raised, with 546 people having donated. Brewster said Rudder and his family can use the money however they want.
Meanwhile, a Change.org petition at bit.ly/37dQoKk has been started, requesting that Connell be charged with a hate crime. As of 3 p.m. on Tuesday, 1,139 people had signed.
However, according to Greenfield Police Chief Robert Haigh Jr., under state law, hate crimes are charged as civil rights violations, which is one of the charges that Connell faces.
Connell was arraigned in Greenfield District Court on June 5, and pleaded not guilty to three counts of assault with intent to murder while armed, four counts of assault with a dangerous weapon, single counts of negligent operation of a motor vehicle, assault and battery, and assault on ambulance personnel, a civil rights violation and a marked lanes violation.
He told police he drove off Main Street at around 3:30 p.m. on June 4 and crashed into a stone wall and building in an attempt to apprehend Rudder and the boys, who he claimed made hand gestures to indicate they had a gun. Police found no firearm on any of the family members, who had exited the bus on Main Street near Hope Street.
According to a statement from the Greenfield Police Department, Greenfield Fire Chief Robert Strahan was nearby and reported seeing Connell chase after and grab Rudder. Police say Strahan pried Connell off of Rudder. No injuries were reported by the family or a bystander who was also nearly struck by the bus.
According to police, Connell was later evaluated at the hospital, where he allegedly kicked an employee.
In a statement Tuesday morning, FRTA General Manager Molly Morin said the bus company is ending Connell’s employment.
“We are partnering with all local authorities in the investigation. The driver is in the process of being terminated,” the statement reads.
According to Morin, FRTA employees undergo a rigorous background check prior to being hired.
“Requirements include each prospective driver to pass federal, state and local checks, which include employment, driving and criminal histories,” she said in an email.
The incident also drew attention from state Sens. Jo Comerford and Adam Hinds and Reps. Natalie Blais, Paul Mark and Susannah Whipps, who issued a joint statement.
“The violence experienced by Mr. Erik Rudder and his children is horrifying,” the statement reads. “It’s an outgrowth of the insidious, systemic and dangerous racism that has been present in our communities for generations.
“This attack demands that we as state elected officials redouble our efforts to dismantle racist structures and ideologies that create or perpetuate hatred and violence,” the statement continues. “We pledge to work together and to join forces with all our constituents engaged in this necessary work now and in the days ahead.”