A Pittsburgh mother is accused of forcing open a school bus door and repeatedly punching the driver because the bus was five minutes late to pick up her daughter, police and the driver said Tuesday. The driver, Shayla Harris, reported a concussion; officers say a criminal complaint names 31-year-old Day as the suspect and a warrant has been issued.
Authorities and school officials said the incident unfolded Jan. 15 on a Propel Braddock Hills charter route during a snowy morning run. Investigators are treating the case as an on-board assault that endangered children already seated on the bus. As of Tuesday, police said the suspect faces counts including aggravated assault, disorderly conduct and unauthorized school bus entry. The episode — captured on interior surveillance video — has drawn sharp reaction from transit staff and parents and prompted questions over driver safety at neighborhood stops in the East Hills area.
Harris told reporters she had just stopped near East Hills Drive and Wilner Drive when a woman yanked the folding doors apart, spilled coffee onto the steps and lunged into the driver’s area. Harris said her focus was on securing the parking brake. “What was going through my mind was to secure the bus so we didn’t drive into anything,” she said. The video shows the attacker striking Harris multiple times while grabbing her hair as children scream in the background. Harris said the woman accused her of leaving “her baby standing in the cold” and kept swinging as the driver tried to shield her face and reach the radio.
According to the complaint summarized by authorities, two adults at the stop and Harris’ teenage son — who had been napping on a seat — pulled the attacker off the driver and then off the bus. Harris went to a hospital where she was treated for a concussion and later reassigned to a different route while she recovered for a week. Police said the woman, identified in charging papers as Day, 31, left before officers arrived; the charges include aggravated assault, unauthorized school bus entry and disorderly conduct. Investigators said the bus carried multiple students at the time and that no children reported injuries. The number of students on board has not been released.
Propel Braddock Hills is part of a regional network of charter schools that relies on contracted transportation. The stop sits in a residential pocket with several bus pull-offs used by multiple routes. Neighbors said morning pickups sometimes bunch up during snow and traffic. Drivers and monitors in the Pittsburgh region have reported rising confrontations in recent years, including verbal disputes at doors and parents stepping into the stairwell during delays. Harris called the January assault “very traumatizing,” adding, “Everybody could have lost their lives that day because I was five minutes late.” Video from the incident circulated locally, showing the brief but intense struggle at the door as the bus idled.
Court records reviewed by reporters show a criminal complaint was filed this week and that a warrant was issued for Day’s arrest; an initial appearance had not been listed by late Tuesday. Pittsburgh police said detectives are collecting additional witness statements and have preserved video from the bus. The unauthorized-entry charge stems from state law prohibiting boarding a school bus without permission. Officials said the case will be forwarded to county prosecutors once officers complete follow-up interviews with the driver, students and adults who helped separate the attacker. Propel administrators said they are cooperating with police and have reassigned personnel to cover the route.
On Tuesday afternoon, yellowed snow lined the curb at East Hills and Wilner as a different driver made the same stop. A few parents watched from cars. “It’s the everyday life of a bus driver… parents are just crazy,” Harris said, describing the tension that can build during weather delays. A neighbor who declined to give her last name said she heard yelling and a child crying on the morning of Jan. 15. “I looked out when the bus pulled off and saw a coffee cup in the street,” she said. Another parent said drivers have been “more cautious” at the doors since the attack and that children have been told to stay back until the bus is fully stopped and the driver signals.
As of Tuesday night, police said the warrant remains active and the investigation is ongoing. Officials plan to provide an update once the suspect is in custody or a court date is set. Harris is back at work on a different route and said she hopes to return to her original schedule after medical clearance.
Author note: Last updated February 4, 2026.