HART driver praises good Samaritan who stepped in during attack

TAMPA, Fla. - We first heard from good Samaritan John Phelps not long after he helped save a HART bus driver during a violent attack.

“I had to fight him off, get him away from that driver," Phelps said Tuesday.

That driver, Schneider Prophet is now recovering in a hospital.

Thursday, he told Phelps, "If he wasn't there and didn't step in, I would not be talking to you."

Phelps and Prophet say a disagreement between the driver and passenger, 65-year-old James Ambrose quickly escalated into violence Tuesday. Ambrose is accused of using pepper spray on Prophet and then stabbing him with a box cutter.

“As soon as the driver hit the floor, he just started cutting him like some kind of psycho," Phelps said. "I’ve seen a lot of stuff in my life, but I’ve never seen anything like that.”

It was the second attack on a HART driver since May, when driver Thomas Dunn was stabbed to death. Since then, HART has been installing barriers to protect drivers. Unfortunately for Prophet, his bus did not have a barrier yet.

Phelps says the barrier isn't enough.

HART tells FOX 13 after Tuesday, it's speeding up the installation process so the barriers are in every bus by January.

According to HART spokesperson Carson Chambers, the barriers are all custom-fit and are shipped 30-at-a-time before installation crews place them in the buses.

On the day of the second stabbing, 104 barriers had been installed, leaving 80 left before January. Chambers says the buses without the barriers will still operate, because they simply need to be on the road.

Phelps, still shaken by the events, says drivers and riders should feel safe on the bus.

"I don't even want to ride the bus anymore. But I have to to get back and forth to work," he said.