A Washington, D.C., woman who attacked a bus in a fit or road rage and then ran over the bus driver will remain in jail whether she is mentally ill or not, a judge ruled on Sept. 4.
Mariana Silver, 20, was captured on video attacking a Greyhound bus with her car jack in a fit of road rage. The bus driver exited his bus and tried to prevent Silver from leaving the scene. Silver rammed into the bus driver once, knocking him to the ground.
When the bus driver got back up and tried to again to block her escape, she stomped on the gas and hit him a second time. The bus driver was carried halfway across an intersection before he fell from the hood of the speeding car.
D.C. Superior Court Magistrate Judge Sean Staples watched the video of Silver first attacking the driver’s side window of the bus, the twice driving into the bus driver. Afterwards, the judge ruled the Silver was a danger to the community and would remain in jail.
Silver’s attorney, Jonathan Armstrong, explained that his client was suffering mental illness and had had an “adverse” reaction to her medication.
Armstrong said he had already arranged a bed for Silver in a Department of Behavioral Health facility, where Silver could receive the treatment she needed—treatment which would not be available in jail.
Judge Staples noted that Silver had been arrested while a juvenile, in 2012, which made this recent attack part of a pattern.
Unmedicated
Mariana Silver’s uncle, Seth Silver, told NBC that his niece had never been violent. “As long as I’ve known her, I’ve never seen her like this,” he said.He told NBC that his niece was schizophrenic, and had not been taking her medications when the incident occurred.
Seth Silver said that when he watched the video he could see immediately that his niece was having mental difficulties.
“If anybody saw the video on YouTube, Facebook, you can see that it was bizarre. But do you understand that the word ‘bizarre’ from a clinical point of view belongs to the people who are Schizophrenic?”
He was upset when he heard his niece would be kept in jail, without bond, instead of being released into a treatment center.
“I was saddened by the verdict. The first thing that kept going through my mind is that what Mariana needs is pills. Not prison.” Seth Silver said.
‘Crazy Driver’
The incident began when Mariana Silver drove her Audi A8 illegally past a Greyhound bus on Bladensburg Road around 6:05 p.m. on Aug. 30.The driver said something to Silver, who responded. The two began arguing, and at one point the driver said, “You’re a crazy driver. You need to get off the road.”
Those were exactly the wrong words at that time and in that situation.
Silver climbed out of her car, opened the trunk, took out the jack, and used it to attack the bus, breaking a hole in the driver’s side window and mirror.
After several strong blows, Silver appeared to be satisfied and returned to her car.
The bus driver, however, was not about to let her go.
While using his cell phone to report the incident, the bus driver climbed down from his bus and walked into the intersection, physically blocking Silver’s path.
Silver unhesitatingly hit the gas and hit the bus driver. She then got out of her car and physically grabbed the driver and threw him aside.
The bus driver tried again to block her. Silver hit him again.
The driver got up, but he didn’t give up. He walked back in front her car. This time when Silver rammed him, the bus driver rolled up onto the hood of her car and was carried halfway across the intersection before falling to the ground.
A bystander asked the driver why he had risked his life, standing in front of a very obviously dangerous driver. The bus driver replied, ”She was going to get away with it.”
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