Scotland Yard today released a new image of the ‘Putney Pusher’ – four months after he shoved a woman into the path of a bus.
The fresh CCTV photograph was taken from the 430 bus that had to swerve to avoid his victim as he crossed the Thames on May 5.
He appears to be running outside a food and wine store on the north London end of Putney Bridge, crossing towards south London – and is wearing quite distinctive blue shorts, with a green trim.
Footage of the attack shocked many but the culprit has still not been identified amid claims the Met investigation has floundered.
This fresh CCTV photograph of the Putney Pusher was taken from the 430 bus that had to swerve to avoid his victim as he crossed the Thames on May 5
He appears to be running outside a food and wine store on the north London end of Putney Bridge, crossing towards south London
The Met has released a new image in the hope a member of the public will identify him.
Detective Sergeant Chris Griffith of Wandsworth CID said today: ‘Images of this alarming incident have been circulated widely and we continue to work through the information received to identify the man responsible.
‘We are grateful to those who have assisted so far. However, I am also appealing for anyone who has given just a name to contact police or Crimestoppers again with as much information as possible so we can fully follow up those lines of enquiry.’
The jogger who pushed a woman into traffic may have targeted his victim, according to the bus driver hailed a hero for swerving out of her way.
Oliver Salbris, 45, managed to steer his double-decker London bus away from the 33-year-old at the last second, missing her by inches.
But a month after police released footage of the incident on Putney Bridge, the culprit has still not been identified.
Speaking for the first time about the attack, Mr Salbris said the jogger had singled out the woman. ‘The consequences could have been terrible for her – and for me,’ he said.
Asked if the push was intentional, he said: ‘Yes – unless he’s a blind jogger.’ Police have refused to rule out the possibility that the victim, who has not been identified, was known to the attacker dubbed ‘the Putney Pusher’.
The man was running across Putney Bridge in south west London when he shoved the woman
Shocking CCTV revealed the moment a jogger pushed a woman in front of a bus on Putney Bridge (pictured)
The 33-year-old woman was lucky to escape serious injury after a bus driver swerved to avoid her on the bridge in south west London
CCTV footage of the attack in May showed the woman walking along the bridge heading to work at 7.40am with the jogger coming towards her.
As he passed her on the pavement, the man shoved the victim into the path of Mr Salbris’s number 430 bus.
She fell head-first into the road but Mr Salbris, whose vehicle was travelling at about 12mph, managed to swerve out of the way.
The father-of-two, who moved to Britain from France in 2005, said: ‘I’ve never seen anything like this before.
‘I was focusing on the road and I just saw the collision between the jogger and the woman.
Bus driver Oliver Salbris swerved to avoid the woman and says her attacker must be caught and justice done
‘It was a fairly close call. I thought I was going to touch her. If I hadn’t swerved, I would have smashed her head. It was reflex – and I would say thanks to God.’ Mr Salbris said the jogger had chosen to push the woman rather than a man walking directly in front of her, adding: ‘He looked like he was doing it on purpose. He needs to be caught and to explain himself. He needs to be prosecuted.’
The driver then went to help the victim. He said: ‘She was sitting on the floor. She was just in shock. She was crying. I offered her my help.’ The jogger carried on and, incredibly, returned 15 minutes later, running past his victim in the opposite direction towards Fulham, where he is thought to live.
After a police appeal last month a 41-year-old American businessman was arrested at his £2million flat – but proved he had been in the US at the time of the attack.
Another man was also arrested before promptly being cleared of any involvement. Reacting to suggestions that he was a hero, Mr Salbris, who has been nominated for an award as London’s top bus driver, told The Sunday Times: ‘Every bus driver is a hero. It’s a job with a lot of responsibility and stress.’
Police are analysing CCTV from the area, and are also interested in data amassed by the Strava website that joggers can use to track their route.
Police questioned and released two men including millionaire American investment banker Eric Bellquist, 41.
Mr Bellquist, who lives in Chelsea, west London, was released when he proved he was in the US at the time.
The Metropolitan police have not excluded the possibility that the jogger and his victim knew each other
The Metropolitan police have not excluded the possibility that the jogger and his victim knew each other.
Officers said that the as yet unidentified jogger ran the other way across the bridge around 15 minutes after pushing his victim.
But when the woman attempted to speak to him ‘he did not acknowledge her’.
Speaking in August, sergeant Mat Knowles said: ‘After he pushed her he ran across the bridge and 15 minutes later came back.
‘By this time the members of the public who had helped the woman were gone and she tried to talk to him as he ran past her but he just ignored her.’
A senior source from the bus company Go Ahead London said it was only down to the slow speed of the vehicle that the accident did not result in serious injury.
Anyone with information should call detectives from Wandsworth CID on 020 3276 2606 or call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.