OC Transpo's silence 'appalling,' says woman pinned by bus
A woman whose foot was pinned under the wheel of an OC Transpo bus says she's still waiting for someone from the public transit agency to call and ask how she's doing.
Leila Giama, 26, said she had just gotten off the Route 92 bus and began crossing the street at Paul Anka and Uplands drives when she was struck around 10:25 p.m. Saturday.
"I crossed [the street] and out of no where, I just found myself underneath the bus, it all happened so fast I was shocked," Giama said Monday from her hospital bed at the Civic campus of the Ottawa Hospital.
"When my foot was stuck underneath the tire, the bus driver got off the bus and just started yelling, saying, 'I didn't see you! I didn't see you!"
Giama said when she screamed for help, the driver got back behind the wheel and moved the bus off her foot. Paramedics soon arrived and transported the Carleton University student to the Ottawa Hospital's trauma centre.
Fractures, torn skin
Giama said she suffered two fractures and lost the skin from the top of her foot. She underwent surgery Sunday morning, but hospital staff told her there's more work to do to repair the damage to her foot.
"I have been in a lot of pain … but mostly I think [I am] just upset at how this all turned out," she said.
'I would have liked to see someone come in and just show compassion to my situation.' - Leila Giama
Giama said she has yet to hear from either police or OC Transpo.
"The fact that I haven't had even one representative of OC Transpo come to me and apologize, or even see how I am doing, is very upsetting."
A terse statement to CBC from OC Transpo's transit operations director, Troy Charter, only confirmed that the incident occurred.
Ottawa police said Monday there have been no charges or arrests, but continue to investigate.
"I wasn't really aware that there was an investigation going on. I feel like I'm completely in the dark," Giama said. "I would have liked to see someone come in and just show compassion to my situation.… It's appalling."
Carleton has agreed to defer her exams while she recovers, Giama said.
