"He had his hands around her neck:" MCTS bus driver pulls over to help woman in danger
MILWAUKEE -- For the second time this week, we're learning of a Milwaukee County Transit System bus driver stepping up to help someone in need.
Anthony Brownlee
Some might call the driver a hero -- but he'd probably just say he was trying to do the right thing.
On Sunday afternoon, May 22nd near the busy intersection of 27th and National, a woman's life was in danger.
"She was on the back of the car and he had his hands around her neck. He was just choking her," said Anthony Brownlee, MCTS bus driver.
Anthony Brownlee
Onlookers feared for the woman's safety and wondered how to save her.
"I was just like, 'Mom, he's hurting her.' I don't know what me or my mom would have done to make a grown man stop doing what he was doing," said a witness.
But at that moment, help arrived from a very unexpected place.
"I was like 'this ain't right,' you know? 'This is not right' -- so that's when I pulled over," said Brownlee.
When Brownlee pulls over, people notice. That's because he's the driver of an MCTS bus.
"I pulled up to the side and I said, 'could you please not do that?'" said Brownlee.
Brownlee's actions broke up the fight. And he did it not with his brawn, but with well-reasoned, brainy logic.
"I said, 'don't do that man,' you know? 'Don't do that -- because you really don't want a domestic violence charge. If you get this charge, you're never going to get a job,'" said Brownlee.
After briefly speaking with Brownlee, the man walked back to the car. The woman pulled a child from the vehicle and climbed aboard Brownlee's bus. She briefly thanked him, and then took a seat. He never got to hear more of her story, because she later exited out of the back door.
"I looked up and I was like 'oh, she's gone,'" said Brownlee.
Brownlee is hoping his actions remind others to step up when they see domestic violence.
"At least say something -- because usually if you do say something, they'll stop," said Brownlee.
Brownlee says once the woman got on his bus, he offered to call the police and have them meet her. He says she declined.