Woman seen forcibly pushing 74-year-old man off bus leading to his death in disturbing surveillance video
The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department has released disturbing surveillance footage of the moment a woman pushed an elderly man off a public transit bus in downtown Las Vegas this past March.
In the video, the woman, identified by authorities as 25-year-old Cadesha Michelle Bishop, can be seen yelling at someone on the aisle of the Regional Transportation Commission bus as the victim, 74-year-old Serge Fournier, makes his way to the front of the bus.
Fournier then seems to have a few words with Bishop before he grabs his walker and tries to get down from the bus. Bishop, agitated, forcibly shoves Fournier with both hands, causing the 74-year-old to fall out of the bus and hit his head on the concrete sidewalk.
The footage confirms accounts from witnesses on the scene who said Fournier had confronted the woman as she was yelling and cursing and told her she had to be nicer to her fellow passengers.
While the video cuts off a few seconds after Fournier's fall, a police report alleges that Bishop grabbed her son's hand and walked away from the scene without stopping to help. On arrival to Fremont Street and 13th Street, officers found the 74-year-old bleeding from his head and had to rush him to a hospital for emergency treatment.
We previously reported that Fournier spent around a month in the hospital before he succumbed to his injuries, with a Clark County coroner ruling that his April 23 death was a homicide resulting from complications of blunt force torso injuries.
Following his death, several of the 74-year-old's friends paid tribute, calling him a "wonderful person" and an "excellent neighbor" who they would never forget. A family friend also said he left behind a disabled wife who will suffer "severe financial problems" because of his passing.
Authorities are said to have successfully identified Bishop as the culprit from a 'Love' emblem on her jacket and her son's distinctive Spider-Man backpack, and subsequently tracked her down and arrested her on a murder warrant on Monday, May 6, in connection to the incident.
The 25-year-old, who has previously been convicted twice on misdemeanor domestic battery charges, was accused of shoving Fournier out the door "with enough force that he never touched any of the steps". Her son's father told detectives he was no longer with her because "she is too violent".
She was assigned a public defense attorney during her first court appearance on Tuesday, May 7, and was ordered to be held on a $100,000 bail pending a preliminary hearing of evidence on May 21. She is currently being held at the Clark County Detention Center.