2021 1:00 AMThe Unsolved Mystery of the Putney PusherIn May 2017 a runner pushed a woman in front of a London bus Despite the city’s vast CCTV network—and the close attentions of internet sleuths —the case remains unsolved.WIREDSave this storySaveSave this storySaveIt was around 7:40am on May 5 when driver Oliver Salbris pulled the number 430 bus out from stop FE on Putney Bridge Traffic is slow in South West London at that time of day and he couldn’t have been doing more than around 12mph If the bus had been moving any faster then things might have played out differently It was only when CCTV footage of the incident was released to the media that August that he saw how narrowly catastrophe had been avoided A jogger can be seen running in the opposite direction there’s a decent enough outline to work with: he’s a stocky white male with short brown hair and brown eyes – wearing dark blue shorts and a grey t-shirt After shoving her into the path of the bus he carries on running without a backwards glance ignoring his shaken victim’s attempts to confront him the strange case of the Putney Pusher – a moniker invented by the press – was big news It made the national news and was quickly picked up by various online forums devoted to speculation surrounding the man’s motives and identity the seemingly straightforward identification case remains unsolved despite London’s vast array of CCTV cameras and a swell of public outrage The mystery has remained a keen focus for amateur internet sleuths “The Putney Bridge Pusher [is] now turning into a genuine mystery,” reads one Reddit post from August 2017 There are plenty of people with an interest in the case who still care about resolution a Reddit thread opened examining the case on its fourth anniversary Perhaps he worked for an embassy (“what surprises me was that his movements were not tracked on leaving the bridge”) or was staying at the nearby Premier Inn (“he could have been in his room less than 2 mins after the attack “My theory was always that he was traveling there on business” Another explained how she’d lived locally for almost her entire life a fellow jogger had acted aggressively towards her father There was no way of saying if it was the Putney Pusher or not But what does the brief CCTV clip really show It reveals a bizarre act of apparently random violence: not a complete psychological profile running the streets of suburban South West London might be imaginatively satisfying The lack of hard evidence is what makes the mystery the Met closed its investigation into the Putney Pusher after the first flurry of arrests and inquiries had produced nothing of value And it remains something the Met isn’t particularly keen to talk about today “As all lines of enquiry are now exhausted pending any new information or evidence which may come to light,” the force said in early September when asked to talk about the case for this story But how was the Pusher never caught? London is the capital of one of the most surveilled nations on Earth. According to figures released in 2020 there are around 5.2 million CCTV cameras in operation around the UK making it the only city outside of China in the global top ten It’s thought that the average Londoner is captured on camera around 300 times a day That the Putney Pusher seemingly vanished into thin air It's a point that baffles Mark Johnson legal and policy officer at the civil liberties non-profit Big Brother Watch “is that this person managed to remain anonymous in what is the surveillance capital of Europe” there is no public evidence the Putney Pusher was captured on another camera in the city the brief snippet of bus CCTV footage remains the only evidence of the man’s existence who has studied the use of CCTV as an investigative tool Ashby explains that even in cases where CCTV is available to investigators “This meant that anyone who police suspected of being the offender could simply point out that the image could show any jogger of a similar height and build” there are plenty of blind spots and people can quickly vanish into the hubbub “The vast majority of streets in London are not covered by public CCTV which tends to be confined to town centres and central London,” says Ashby “Many shops and other businesses have CCTV cameras that might cover part of the street outside but obviously there are no shops on Putney Bridge.” He adds that while buses have lots of cameras there are around 17 on a typical double-decker after a minor altercation in a supermarket These cases command our attention by their rareness a senior lecturer in criminology at Birmingham City University The Putney Pusher adds another layer of intrigue “It was an unprovoked and deliberate attack that could have resulted in the victim being killed,” Rahman says “Most people tend to feel safe when walking on a public path during daylight hours and therefore while the case generated public attention it would have also instilled fear in many of becoming a potential victim It’s a specific form of urban anxiety. After years of drowning deaths in Manchester’s canals, rumours spread of a sociopathic ‘pusher’ serial killer. That these claims were repeatedly debunked doesn’t seem to matter – they provided a kind of perverse clarity random mishap and tragedy proved more terrifying than the sceptre of a fictitious killer the world of surveillance technology has moved on since the Putney Pusher would the perpetrator still be able to slip away uncaught “The other interesting thing is the facial recognition element [though] it doesn't look like there’s full frontal capture of [the assailants] face,” Johnson says Back in 2017 facial recognition deployment was in its relative infancy and London had not yet begun trialling live recognition systems in public spaces using photos captured via CCTV or other systems Updated 14.01.21, 15:00 GMT: This article has been updated to clarify that Big Brother Watch is not a charity.  This article was originally published by WIRED UK It is the essential source of information and ideas that make sense of a world in constant transformation The WIRED conversation illuminates how technology is changing every aspect of our lives—from culture to business The breakthroughs and innovations that we uncover lead to new ways of thinking Please enable JS and disable any ad blocker The Sunday TimesA hero bus driver who swerved to avoid a woman pushed into his path by a jogger on London’s Putney Bridge believes the victim was deliberately targeted as the mystery surrounding the case deepens Speaking for the first time about the incident Oliver Salbris admitted that his bus “would have smashed her head” had it not been for his quick-thinking actions and the woman would almost certainly have been killed “The consequences could have been terrible for her — and for me,” Salbris told The Sunday Times this weekend Referring to the behaviour of the male jogger Salbris added: “He looked like he was doing it on purpose He needs to be caught and to explain himself News | Crime Get our award-winning daily news email featuring exclusive stories I would like to be emailed about offers, event and updates from Evening Standard. Read our privacy notice Police probe after man dies in Southwark flat fire Man dies from stabbing after knife attack in restaurant Man charged with attempted murder of mother stabbed at Notting Hill Carnival to appear in court charged with murder of dog walker Mr Salbris managed to swerve his double decker bus to avoid crushing a woman who was pushed into its path by the jogger at about 7.30am on May 5 last year. Officers released shocking CCTV footage of the man shoving her under the bus in hope of finding him, revealing they had more than 50 people of interest during their investigation. But police called off their search for the attacker this week admitting they had exhausted all lines of enquiry. Mr Salbris said: "There’s never going to be justice [for the woman]. Justice won’t be done for this case and someone is going to walk free.” The 45-year-old, who has been a bus driver for 23 years, said he saw the woman walking towards Putney High Street before she was attacked. He said: “The bridge was not too busy at the time, there was only a few people walking on it. "I was just looking out on the road and I saw this guy crash into this woman, but he pushed her only a few inches from my bus. “It was deliberate – he pushed her. It was not an accident.” The Go-Ahead London driver, who works out of Putney Garage, said his first reaction was simply to avoid the woman and make sure she was safe. “When I avoided her I stopped the bus and I shouted towards the guy to get his attention, but he just kept going, he couldn’t hear me,” he said. He said the victim was “shaken up” and crying when he rushed to her aid. He said he thinks of the near miss every time he travels along Putney Bridge. He said: “Every time I pass this bridge it brings back memories, especially if I’m working on a morning.” Being a driver in London, Mr Salbris said it can be common to have near-misses and see pedestrians in the road, but he said this case was different because it was “deliberate”. He said: “Every day you nearly hit someone, but I’m more conscious this man did it on purpose. “I would tell him to come forward and take responsibility for his actions. At least explain yourself and excuse yourself. "The difference between life and death was inches.” Police said in a statement: “As a suspect has not been identified and as all lines of enquiry have now been exhausted the investigation has been closed. Should Prince Louis steals the show at VE Day parade as he keeps dad William looking sharp and mimics brother George Prince Louis steals show with sweet antics at VE parade VE Day 2025 fashion: best looks from the day, Princess of Wales, Princess Charlotte, Lady Victoria Starmer VE Day 2025 fashion: Princess of Wales to Lady Victoria Starmer Ukraine 'launches stunning Kursk offensive' in major blow for Putin ahead of Victory Day celebrations Ukraine 'launches stunning Kursk offensive' in blow for Putin Rihanna shows off baby bump at star-studded Met Gala 2025 as singer's third pregnancy with A$AP Rocky announced Rihanna debuts baby bump on star-studded Met Gala blue carpet Stacey Solomon 'regrets doing reality show with Joe Swash' for tough reason Stacey Solomon 'regrets reality show with Joe Swash' for tough reason Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player Oliver Salbris was driving along Putney Bridge in south-west London when he was left with just a split-second to react. whose vehicle came within inches of hitting the woman admitted she would "probably be dead" if he hadn't been concentrating Police are still working to identify the jogger Now Mr Salbris is also calling on the individual to hand himself in Mr Salbris was driving his regular route along the bridge at around 7.40am on May 5 when the woman and jogger collided The bus driver told ITV News on Tuesday that he was only travelling at 12mph because of traffic but if the speed had been quicker the victim might be dead I didn't realise how close I was from her," he said "It was only when I saw the footage that I realised that I was that close." He added: "Any faster and it might have been a fatal collision." TfL bosses said that when Mr Salbris reported the "near-miss" he did not explain how important his actions had been It was only when they reviewed CCTV that they realised what a "great bit of driving it had been" Asked if he believed the incident was deliberate he said: "If he [the jogger] had just stopped I would say that it was cruel - a lack of manners." More than 60 years after its launch the Citroën 2CV is still breaking records The 19th World Meeting of Citroën 2CV Friends/19e Rencontre Mondiale des Amis de la 2CV opened its doors on Tuesday and will last till Sunday Around 6000 examples of the Citroën 2Cv (known as Dolly) and derivates are expected the Rencontre Mondiale des Amis de la 2CV attracts participants and Citroën 2CV enthusiasts from all over the world This year the event promises to be the biggest yet In this event the past and the future will be arm in arm Four pre-war prototype Citroën 2CV are being exhibited alongside the contemporary Citroën REVOLTe concept – inspired by the 2CV’s distinctive silhouette the world meeting of 2 CV Friends is gaining ground and in 2006 more than 2650 2CVs and A-types gathered for the 14th National Meeting of French 2 CV Clubs Salbris is only two hours away from Paris by car The world famous Loire valley castles such as Chambord are easily reachable from the Sologne region The site has all the usual amenities such as bathrooms and hot showers needed for the comfort of participants but at the heart of the meeting participants can find many stalls selling 2CV memorabilia and spare parts as well as traditional French delicacies such as wine bread and pastries.A spectacular and unheard of 2CV museum is exhibiting unique and exceptional A-series models Traditional daily activities are not forgotten and a large tent will host live music every night please register for free or log in to your account Published: Invalid Date COPS have called off the hunt for the “Putney Pusher” jogger who shoved a woman into the path of a bus Despite a huge public appeal and officers trawling hours of CCTV who shoved a woman in front of a bus on Putney Bridge last May The 33-year-old victim survived thanks to the lightening-fast reaction of hero bus driver Olivier Salbris who managed to swerve the No 430 to miss the woman as she fell back into the road The front wheel of his 12-ton double decker came within inches of her head The incident happened at 7.40am on May 5 last year as the woman walked to work over Putney Bridge, South West London, but police only publicised it in August. Millions viewed CCTV of the shunt online and cops investigated more than 50 “people of interest”. A spokesman for the Metropolitan Police said: “All of them were researched, reviewed and eventually eliminated. “The matter was investigated fully with all reasonable lines of enquiry completed. “As a suspect has not been identified and as all lines of enquiry have now been exhausted the investigation has been closed. Should any new information come to light, this will be explored.” Olivier said the woman - who has chosen to remain anonymous - was screaming “why me?” after she was shoved into the path of the bus. About 15 minutes after the incident, the jogger came back the other way across the bridge. The victim tried to speak to him but he did not acknowledge her and carried on running towards the north side of the river. Responding to the news the notorious "Putney Pusher" had walked free, Olivier, 45 — commended at the UK Bus Awards for his life-saving reactions — told the Sun: “I think the police have done all they can do, but it’s sad he will not be caught. “He should hand himself in. He needs to face up to what he’s done. What made him do what he did?” HOW is it credible for police to give up hunting the Putney Bridge jogger who almost shoved a woman to her death? He was caught on CCTV clear enough to be identified by workmates, friends or relatives. It is beyond belief, given the level of surveillance in our capital, that there is simply no way of tracing him. Anti-Tory campaigners haven’t wasted the chance to claim cops don’t have the manpower. Cobblers. They had enough to investigate and clear 50 ­suspects. They must not give up. The appeals should go on. Someone, somewhere knows this cowardly and remorseless scumbag. And his next random assault could kill. a retired detective chief inspector who solved some of the Met's most notorious crimes said little could be done with limited money and resources He said: “Something that high profile and potentially as dangerous as this would have had a different level of attention." added: “Somebody will know who this jogger is and perhaps one or two years down the line circumstances might change and they will come forward but that’s the only remaining possibility that this case will be solved.” - The woman was pushed into the path of an oncoming bus by the jogger in Putney Bridge on May 5 last year – yet the Metropolitan Police only launched an appeal for information regarding the identity of the middle-aged man THREE MONTHS after the incident two 41-year-old men were arrested in connection with the investigation but were both released without charge hit out at cops for implicating him in the “abhorrent” crime when he was 5,000 miles away in California - He was forced into hiding and was under the protection of ex-SAS veterans after becoming a figure of hate when he was implicated in the crime was arrested in Aberdeen in October but was also released with no further action Do YOU know who the 'Putney Pusher' is We pay for your stories! 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