Trans bus driver says female coworker attacked her in locker room

In New York City, a trans woman says she’s suffering post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) after she was attacked in the women’s locker room at a Metropolitan Transportation Authority facility in the Bronx.

The bus driver, Nana Mangual (age 36), says she was slapped across the face and verbally abused by her colleague Sonia Rivera (age 60).

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Rivera, a longtime employee with the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA), was arrested and charged with 3rd-degree assault and 2nd-degree aggravated harassment as a hate crime. She pleaded not guilty on April 20, according to the Bronx District Attorney’s office.

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Now Mangual claims the MTA is trying to fire her.

Since the March 17 incident, Mangual says she has suffered from PTSD and has been unable to return to work. She claims the agency isn’t helping with medical leave and worker’s compensation.

“I was being discriminated against,” Mangual told WPIX in New York. 

Police say the trouble between the two drivers started around 4:30 p.m., after Mangual reportedly took a shower at the Eastchester bus depot in the Bronx. When she started dressing, Mangual alleged that Rivera yelled at her to turn down the gospel music she was playing. The situation allegedly devolved from there.

That’s when Mangual started recording the confrontation on her cell phone.

“She told me I need to use the men’s room,” Mangual said.

As the verbal dispute allegedly escalated, Rivera realized Mangual had caught her on camera. The recording showed Rivera slapping the phone from Mangual’s hands in front of a locker room mirror.

“When she realized I was recording, she turned around and physically attacked me,” Mangual said. “I couldn’t get this trauma incident out of my head.”

On Monday, the Bronx District Attorney’s office said Rivera had initially been charged with a hate crime, 2nd-degree aggravated harassment, 3rd-degree assault, and 2nd-degree harassment.

But on June 1, Rivera was granted an adjournment in contemplation of dismissal. The charges could eventually be dropped.

Mangual is demanding better accommodations for transgender employees at the MTA, including gender-neutral restrooms as well as an LGBTQ+ education program at the agency — she said she’s been misgendered at the workplace before.

An MTA spokesperson told The New York Post the agency “does not tolerate violence or discrimination of any kind in the workplace and takes allegations of this nature very seriously. Given this matter is currently under investigation, we are unable to comment further at this time.” 

Speaking of her attacker, Malguan said, “She caused trauma in my life, because I didn’t deserve this.”