Fever triggered road rage incident, says bus driver

A bus driver facing complaints of assault after a very public bout of road rage in central Auckland on Tuesday says he has since spent almost 36 hours in hospital passing a kidney stone.

The burly 40-year-old Stagecoach driver, who gave his name only as Brian, said yesterday he was suffering from a high fever when he tried to drag a woman from her car in Queen St in mid-afternoon traffic and then pushed over a 64-year-old man who went to her aid.

He had been sounding his horn to persuade the woman to move her car from in front of his bus, and then tried to get into her vehicle before grabbing her arm and trying to pull her out.

After knocking over Milford resident Bill Ellingham, who rushed to her assistance, he hopped back in his bus and drove his single passenger through a red light before pulling off the road and radioing in a report of the incident to his North Shore depot.

His supervisor sent a vehicle to collect him, and he was suspended pending an investigation next Monday where he will be represented by the Auckland Tramways Union.

A police spokeswoman said the woman motorist and Mr Ellingham had laid complaints of assault against the driver.

But "Brian", who contacted Newstalk ZB host Danny Watson yesterday afternoon and then spoke to the Herald to apologise for his actions, said he was discharged from hospital only at noon after being admitted early on Wednesday in agony from a kidney stone.

He said he had been depressed about the incident, and the likelihood of losing his job, when he used a public toilet in Parnell and found himself urinating blood.

"It was like pissing razor blades. I was in agony, mate, and started crying." He said he had not wanted to mention his medical condition on radio, when he told Watson he was feeling stressed by the fact his girlfriend had been ill.

That cut little ice with talkback callers, most of whom said there could be no excuse for road rage, especially if the perpetrator was responsible for a large vehicle and the safety of passengers.

"For God's sake, the man's just a mental defective, he shouldn't be allowed out of the house in the morning," one caller said.

"Brian" said he resented being called mentally defective and did not usually become stressed in what he described as "a pretty cruisy job", driving between Long Bay and the CBD.

He was used to Auckland traffic, having worked for Stagecoach for 2 1/2 years.

But he was resigned to losing his job. He already had a black mark against his name from an incident in 2004 when he accidentally opened an emergency door which hit a bus inspector in the groin.

Asked what he would do next, he said: "I'll just have a holiday and read my Buddhist book."