Man throws hot coffee in NJ Transit conductor’s face after denied free ride

A Newark man was charged with assault after throwing a cup of hot coffee in the face of an NJ Transit train conductor when he was denied a free ride, according to police.

The rush-hour incident happened at the busy Secaucus junction train station at about 5:15 p.m. Monday night, NJ Transit police Chief Christopher Trucillo told NJ.com.

While the assistant conductor of the train was on the platform as the train boarded, Michael Wilson, 36, approached the conductor and told him he needed a ride, but was not willing to pay.

When the conductor showed him where he could purchase a ticket, Wilson allegedly threw the hot coffee in his face and fled the station, police said.

Trucillo said the conductor got the hot liquid in his eyes, nose and mouth and was taken to a local hospital for treatment.

The incident delayed the crowded commuter train.

“We had to get EMS, trains are stopped, people on the train are affected, it interfered with the p.m. rush,” Trucillo told the outlet.

Wilson was arrested and charged with third-degree aggravated assault on a uniformed transit employee — a new criminal offense signed into law by Gov. Phil Murphy — and with interfering with transportation, Trucillo said. 

He was booked at the Essex County Jail.

According to NJ.com. Murphy signed a law in Jan. 2022 making assaulting a public or private transit employee who is “targeted because of their job,” a third-degree assault charge.

Those charged can face penalties of up to three- to five-years in prison and up to a $15,000 fine. 

Previously assaulting a transit officer had been a fourth-degree crime with lesser penalties of 18 months in prison and up to a $10,000 fine.