The identity of a mystery jogger who became a national hate figure when he was filmed shoving a woman into the path of a bus may never be known after police announced they had closed their investigation into the incident.
The 33-year-old victim escaped serious injury when the driver of the 430 bus swerved to avoid her on Putney Bridge in south-west London.
CCTV footage of the incident provoked widespread outrage and speculation over the identity of the jogger. It led to the wrongful arrest of a 41-year-old banker who had irrefutable proof that he was in the US at the time of the incident.
The Metropolitan police launched a hunt for the jogger last August, three months after the incident happened. After investigating 50 people as part of the investigation, it has now said all lines of inquiry have been exhausted.
The victim, who suffered minor injuries, was ignored by the runner 15 minutes later as he ran past her going back over the bridge. The woman tried to speak to him but he did not acknowledge her and continued jogging towards the north side of the river.
The bus driver, Oliver Salbris, was hailed as a hero for his quick actions in swerving to avoid the woman. He told the Sunday Times in September he had thought he was going to hit her. “If I hadn’t swerved, I would have smashed her head,” he said.
He said the jogger “looked like he was doing it on purpose”, adding: “He needs to be caught and to explain himself. He needs to be prosecuted.”
A Met police spokesman said: “Officers looked at over 50 people of interest during the course of the investigation; all of them were researched, reviewed and eventually eliminated.
“The matter was investigated fully with all reasonable lines of inquiry completed. As a suspect has not been identified and as all lines of inquiry have now been exhausted, the investigation has been closed. Should any new information come to light, this will be explored.”
