Clarksville, Tennessee, based First Amendment auditor Jeremiah Payne published a video on Wednesday in which he and his wife were apparently injured when a Clarksville Public Transport bus came to an unexpected stop, throwing both he and wife Samantha to the ground.
The video started with Payne reminding his viewers that due to a back injury, his wife Samantha is unable to sit in the “hard plastic seats” of busses in the area. Because of this, she was standing at the time of the incident, despite rules against standing on city buses.
Payne said he was standing beside her to prevent his wife from falling. Payne’s seven-year-old daughter was properly seated along with their dog, Skittles. He said that the bus came to an abrupt stop at a red light, going from “60 MPH to zero” in an instant, throwing he and his wife to the floor.
Others were apparently injured in the incident, as Payne said that one man hit his head on a seat rest and another man may have reinjured his knee after recent knee surgery. Payne himself showed a contusion and swelling on one of his legs along with bruises and scrapes on his legs and arms.
It is unclear if the scrapes and bruisers were older as Payne did not indicate how long has passed since his filming in the park and the actual incident. He shared that he and wife Samantha refused to go to an emergency room in Clarksville but would be getting checked out in an emergency room in Nashville the following day.
Payne also revealed that a Clarksville Public Transport supervisor had banned his family from riding the bus for the rest of the day, leaving his family stranded about nine miles from home.
The YouTuber then played his recording of the aftermath of the incident, with the video starting moments after the apparent incident. Payne and wife Samantha were screaming at the bus driver while other passengers occasionally chimed in to support the pair.
Payne said that the bus driver committed vehicular assault on everyone in the bus then claimed that the bus driver was threatening everyone when he commented, “If you think that was slamming on the brakes, I’ll show you slamming on the brakes.”
That comment was followed by Payne eventually stating that if the driver thought he was hit with a good punch, he’d show him a good punch. Despite Payne saying he wasn’t threatening the bus driver, the bus driver pulled over, ordered Payne and family off the bus and the police were summoned.
As police arrived, Payne explained to an officer that his wife needed back and hip surgery and showed off his own injury. Seeing the injury, Payne’s daughter blurted out that her daddy got injured in the knee where he already needed knee surgery.
Payne and the passenger who just had knee surgery demanded ambulance and an ambulance eventually arrived on the scene. Payne apparently refused to be treated at the scene.
No one was charged on scene, and a police officer had to separate Payne from the driver of the bus when Payne would later demand the bus driver’s badge number.
Again, Payne interjected that after the incident resolved and the family began to walk to the next bus stop, a Clarksville Public Transit representative approached them and banned them from riding on the bus for the rest of the day. No video was presented of that interaction.
The Payne family were previously kicked off of a bus belonging to Nashville’s WeGo Public Transit bus in June after Samantha Payne refused to sit as required by WeGo policy. Jeremiah Payne accused the bus driver of “racism” and threatened a lawsuit over the incident.
It is unclear why the Clarksville Public Transportation driver allowed both Paynes to remain standing during their ride.
Payne said he was suing Clarksville Public Transit as a result of the incident as the stream ended.
