Tulsa Man Receives Key To City For Protecting Bus Driver From Assault

A Tulsa man received a key to the city after protecting a bus driver from an assault.

Gary Brooks was working near East Admiral and Mingo when he noticed a Tulsa Transit bus hit a pole on August 13.

Brooks walked across the street to see if anyone needed help and said he saw a man beating the bus driver.

He jumped into action to help the bus driver and the passengers on board.

"I think God gave me the strength because I just did it, I didn't know if he had a gun or a knife, but I just went straight for him,” Brooks said.

Brooks was able to protect the bus driver and other passengers from the attacker until the police arrived.

“Without him, we're not sure how this would have turned out. It's terrible to think what it would have been like, but today is about Gary Brooks and hopefully about the life he saved,” Tulsa Transit General Manager, Scott Marr said.

Mayor G.T Bynum awarded Brooks with a key to the city as a thank you for his actions, but Brooks believes he was just doing the right thing.

"I'm always helping people as much as I can. I work hard and do what I must do, so if this happened or anything happened and I am around, I'd maybe do the same thing again,” Brooks said.

Tulsa Transit is working to install barriers to protect their drivers in every bus by the end of the year.

The suspect in this case, Douglas Barnes, is charged with federal assault charges.