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A banker and former British Army officer has been arrested nine years after allegedly throwing a woman under a bus in Putney.
In May 2017, the ‘Putney Pusher’ pushed the woman on Putney Bridge, and his identity has remained unknown ever since.
The driver of the bus managed to swerve out of the way and avoid hitting the 33-year-old woman, but shocking CCTV footage sparked a years-long manhunt to find the suspect.
The ‘millionaire’ suspect reportedly has ties to several European royal families and works as a director at a private bank after serving with the British Army.
Now, the Metropolitan Police have said a 44-year-old man has been arrested and taken into custody on suspicion of attempted grievous bodily harm.
They added: ‘The arrest relates to an incident on 5 May 2017, where a woman was pushed into the path of a bus on Putney Bridge in Putney.’
After issuing a widespread plea for any leads, police were forced to close the case, despite two arrests and the questioning of 50 suspects.
The bus driver, Oliver Salbris, was labelled a hero for his quick actions in swerving to avoid the woman.
Timeline of the Putney Pusher
May 5, 2017
7:40am
A jogger wearing grey pushes a woman onto the road on Putney Bridge. A double-decker bus on the road managed to swerve at the last minute, saving her life.
7:55am
The jogger comes back, ignoring the victim as she attempts to confront him about the attack. He disappeared and has not been seen since.
June 2018
After a massive manhunt, the Metropolitan Police closed their investigation, with no suspects ever charged.
April 2024
A play about the Putney Pusher gets conversation going around the case again. The play, called Once Upon a Bridge, was performed at the OSO Arts Centre in Barnes, south west London.
June 15, 2026
A suspect is arrested and charged with attempted grievous bodily harm.
He told the Sunday Times in 2017he thought he was going to hit her: ‘If I hadn’t swerved, I would have smashed her head.
‘It was reflex. The consequences would have been terrible for her – and for me,’ he said.
He said the jogger ‘looked like he was doing it on purpose’.
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‘He needs to be caught and to explain himself. He needs to be prosecuted,’ Mr Salbris added.
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