Mom of man who beat bus driver apologizes

The mother of a man convicted of viciously beating a veteran Edmonton bus driver apologized to the victim outside the Edmonton courthouse Friday afternoon.

What happened to Tom Bregg "should never happen to anybody else or anybody," Ruby Mattson told reporters. "What my son did was way out of line. What my son gets — he gets...

"What my son did was not right and I am so sorry to all of the people of Edmonton, all the ETS bus drivers, all their family members."

Gary Edwin Mattson, 25, pleaded guilty in May to aggravated assault for the attack on Bregg , 58, during the morning rush hour on Dec. 3, 2009.

Ruby Mattson's apology comes the same day Bregg told a judge about how his life has been permanently altered by the attack — the first time he's made a statement about what happened.

"I have lost six months of my life and my trust in humanity," Bregg said in a written victim impact statement presented at Mattson's sentencing hearing.

"The stress on my family has been incredible. They supported me and cared for me from the moment I was brought to the hospital in near-dead condition to the present."

Face stomped repeatedly

Bregg chose not to read his statement aloud in court, but told the judge the media could be given copies of the document.

Bregg was repeatedly kicked and stomped on the face by Mattson, who boarded Bregg's bus in northeast Edmonton.

After refusing to pay his fare, Mattson punched Bregg and pulled him out of his seat . He then dragged Bregg on to the sidewalk and stomped on his head 15 times.

Mattson's sentencing hearing has been underway intermittently since he pleaded guilty on May 6.

Bregg suffered brain damage and lost sight in his left eye in the attack. He also suffers from poor depth perception, memory loss, balance problems and has trouble sleeping, his physician told the court last month.

In his victim impact statement, Bregg said he is on the road to recovery "but still suffer[s] facial injuries, including the likely loss of the left eye."

"I am unable to work or pursue my hobbies or activities at this time," he wrote.

The Crown has indicated it will seek to have Mattson designated a dangerous offender and will ask the judge to have him undergo a psychiatric assessment.

The judge will announce on June 28 on whether Mattson should undergo that assessment.