Student who assaulted bus driver over takeaway food ordered to pay €500

A student who assaulted a driver when he wouldn't allow him to bring takeaway food onto his bus has been ordered to pay his victim €500.

Patrick Fotso, 21, appeared at Letterkenny District Court charged with assaulting Bus Eireann employee Noel McDevitt. The court heard how Fotso attempted to board the bus at Letterkenny Bus Station on March 16, 2024.

However, Mr McDevitt noticed he had a takeaway in his hand and told him he could not bring it on board the bus. Garda Sergeant Jim Collins said the accused man became aggressive and pushed the driver back onto the steps of the bus.

Gardai were called and a cautioned memo was taken. CCTV footage was harvested from the area and it showed Fotso pushing the driver.

Solicitor for Fotso, of The Forest, Ballymacool, Letterkenny, Mr Donough Cleary, said his client had no previous convictions. He outlined how Fotso was a digital marketing student based in Dublin and that he takes the bus to the capital regularly.

He said there was a disagreement about the food and "the height of it was a push."

Mr Cleary asked Judge Ciaran Liddy if he could consider dealing with the issue by way of a donation instead of a conviction. Judge Liddy adjourned the case until July 6 and ordered Fotso to pay Mr McDevitt €500. If this was done then he would strike out the matter, he added.