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Putney bridge jogger: Woman pushed in front of bus asked driver 'Why me?'

Driver describes how victim went into shock

Harriet Agerholm
Thursday 05 October 2017 12:04 EDT
Met Police release footage of jogger pushing woman into oncoming traffic in Putney

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A woman pushed into the path of a bus by a jogger reportedly asked the driver "Why me?" in the aftermath of the attack.

Number 430 London bus driver Oliver Salbris swerved to avoid the 33-year-old, narrowly avoiding her head.

Mr Salbris has for the first time described how the victim went into shock, telling MailOnline: "She said things like 'What happened' and 'Why? Why? Why?'

"She asked me: Why me?'"

Mr Salbris, a father of two, said he did not realise how close the vehicle had come to hitting the woman until he saw the footage of the incident.

He added that he was relieved she had survived relatively unscathed and said that her death would have "destroyed" his life.

Mr Salbris's shift began at 5am on the morning of the incident, which took place on 5 May on Putney Bridge around 7.30am.

Security camera footage from a bus driving in front on the number 410 captured the incident, yet police are still looking for the man responsible.

A Met spokesperson said the woman was still recovering around 15 minutes after the incident when the same jogger returned across the bridge.

The victim tried to speak to him, but he did not acknowledge her and carried on jogging, they said.

Mr Salbris is set to receive an award from Transport for London next month in recognition of his actions.

Yet he denies being a hero, saying training helped him react quickly to the situation.

After images from the incident were published, a 41-year-old American businessman was arrested, but he was released after he proved he was not in the UK at the time of the incident.

Scotland Yard said the investigation was continuing.

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