Brussels halts public transit after road rage slaying

The public transport authority in Brussels halted all buses, trams and metro trains in the Belgian capital for the Easter holiday weekend after a controller was “beaten to death” following a traffic accident.

Spokeswoman Francoise Ledune said the controller, aged 56, was taken to hospital in critical condition, but later died. Ledune said he was attacked on Saturday after being called to the scene of an accident involving a bus and a car earlier in the day.

He was “beaten to death” by the car driver, she said.

All bus, metro and tram services would be halted for three days, she added.

Traffic might resume on Tuesday during the day, but this would depend on the outcome of talks with Interior Minister Joelle Milquet on the same day, trade unions warned.

“Nothing will move before talks with the minister,” said Csc-transcom official Robert Timmermans.

The decision was taken on Saturday after a meeting between Brussels Intercommunal Transport Company (STIB) management and unions.

“We expect clear and firm measures and no small steps,” Timmermans added. “The security problem in public transport is not new.”

Brussels prosecutor Bruno Bulthe, deploring the “gratuitous violence,” said later the suspected assailant had been arrested.

Prime Minister Elio Di Rupo called in a statement for a swift trial and “the severest punishment” for whoever was responsible.

According to the latest statistics available, 773 passengers were attacked while using public transports in Brussels in 2010, and 193 STIB staff.