On October 24th, 2024, Tabatha Dougherty was CDTA bus operator and was driving the 100 line, which was a route she has been driving since August 2024. October 24th was also Tabatha’s last day on the job.

Tabatha said an elderly man got on the bus and asked high schoolers sitting in a seat in front of the bus to give up a seat for him, however, that’s when chaos began.

Those high schoolers refused to move, and Tabatha got up out of her driver’s seat and tried to help.

However, one of the teenagers, Tabatha said, began assaulting her, punching, kicking, and pulling her hair. Some of the other teenagers got involved punching and hitting her too.

Tabatha, scared for her life, tells NewsChannel 13, “I wholeheartedly believe they would have tried to kill me.”

Tabatha was left with injuries from the incident, including a concussion, a shoulder injury, a sprain, and abrasions on her face.

“I have marks from the girl’s shoe when she had gotten down because she kicked me in my temples repeatedly, but the worse one is the trauma. The emotional toll that its taken,” Tabatha said.

Tabatha said later that same day of the assault she found out she was fired for violating company policy by getting out of the driver’s seat.

A couple of days later, she was called back into CDTA.

“They escorted me off the property and told me I wasn’t allowed back on the property,” said Tabatha.

Albany Police said they are investigating the incident. Tabatha told us she spoke with the detective on the case on Wednesday.

A spokesperson from CDTA provided a statement to NewsChannel 13 saying, “We are aware of an incident that took place on a CDTA bus in October 2024. As a matter of practice, we do not comment on personnel matters. At CDTA, the safety of our bus Operators is one of our top priorities. We provide extensive safety training and refresher training for all of our Operators. Violence in any form is not condoned by our Operators or passengers. We want the riding experience to be safe and enjoyable for all who choose to ride with us and for those who have chosen the career of a professional Bus Operator.”

Watch Zach Richter’s story above to see the video of the incident.