Charges dropped against bus driver in locked passenger case

VERNON, CONN. >> The lawyer for a bus driver who had been charged with locking a passenger in the vehicle’s luggage compartment says the criminal case has been dropped.

Attorney Nate Baber tells The Boston Globe that Wendy Alberty is no longer facing reckless endangerment, unlawful restraint, and breach of peace charges.

The 49-year-old New Jersey woman was charged after Connecticut State Police received a 911 call Aug. 4 from a New York woman who said she was locked inside the compartment of the Peter Ban bus while retrieving items from her bag.

Police found the woman when they pulled the bus over in Union, Connecticut.

Baber said his client’s actions were unintentional. Springfield, Massachusettsbased Peter Pan called Alberty an “exemplary” employee. A company official said he did not think Alberty acted intentionally.

Former governor stands by tweet comparing Trump to Hitler

TRENTON >> Former New Jersey Gov. Christie Whitman says she stands by a tweet she deleted in which she compared President Donald Trump to Adolf Hitler.

The Republican tweeted Hitler “has nothing on” Trump.

Whitman’s tweet was in response to reports that a violent parody video depicting a likeness of Trump shooting and stabbing opponents and members of the media was played during a conference at his Miami golf resort.

Whitman tells WNBC-TV in New York the comparison was “inflammatory” but she hoped the shock value would make people realize the severity of the situation.

Whitman, who also served as administrator of the United States Environmental Protection Agency, says she is “really frightened for the country.”

After the White House condemned the video, Whitman tweeted again saying the video was “the stuff of dictators.”