BOSTON, Aug. 10, 2012—An MBTA bus driver was arraigned today on charges that she intentionally drove her vehicle into a City of Boston Transportation Department employee trying to give her a ticket, Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel F. Conley said.

LATARIA MILTON (D.O.B. 2/18/78) of Somerville was formally charged in Roxbury District Court today with assault and battery with a dangerous weapon — a motor vehicle – and reckless operation of a motor vehicle for the incident in Kenmore Square yesterday.

Assistant District Attorney Linda Champion recommended cash bail of $2,500. Judge David Weingarten released Milton on her own recognizance.

Transit Police responded to the area of Kenmore station at about 8:15 a.m. for a report of a multi-vehicle collision. In addition to the Route 65 bus that allegedly struck the 44-year-old victim, officers observed a Boston Transportation Department van and three civilian vehicles with varying degrees of body damage.

From her hospital bed, the victim told investigators that she had instructed Milton to move the bus from the area on Beacon Street where it was illegally parked, but that Milton ignored her in favor of eating breakfast inside the bus. When she saw the victim begin writing a citation, Milton allegedly started the bus and drove around her van. The victim soon caught up with her and attempted to place the ticket on the bus’ window.

It was at that point, the victim said, that Milton accelerated, striking her and the driver’s side door of her van. Two fellow Transportation Department employees corroborated that account. The victim was taken to Brigham and Women’s Hospital with injuries deemed not life-threatening. The van door was nearly ripped off its hinges.

The bus also struck a Subaru, forcing that car into the rear of a second car and causing damage to both vehicles. The Subaru was forced forward into the driver’s side of a third vehicle. The Subaru had to be towed due to the damage it had sustained; none of the occupants were injured.

Milton allegedly gave a statement in which she claimed that the bus spontaneously rolled forward when the victim attempted to place the ticket on her window. Mechanics from both the MBTA and the Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities inspected the vehicle and found not defects or brake failure.

Based on witness statements and a preliminary review of surveillance imagery, Transit Police placed Milton under arrest and requested that the Registry of Motor Vehicles suspend her license as an immediate threat.

Milton was represented by attorney Steven Sack. She will return to court on Oct. 16.

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All defendants are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.