Ms Holden (48), speaking to the Otago Daily Times from Wellington yesterday, said she thinks the driver braked in retribution for a perceived slight after a male friend she was with made "flippant, playful" comments to the driver as she and another friend, Queenstown taxi driver Kay Benneworth, got on the 10.25pm bus at Arrowtown.
She said her group had been drinking but were "happy, not drunk", a claim she said was verified by an independent passenger who also said the driver had been "aggressive".
She said the trio were slammed into one another by the driver's "erratic" and "fast" driving, and when she stood up to cross to another seat, he deliberately put the brakes on.
"I said, 'I'm moving', and then I just remember flying with force forward and the next thing I knew I was at the front of the bus about three or four metres away. I was just relieved I could move my neck and head."
Ms Benneworth said the impact was so severe, she thought her friend "might have got brain damage or not got up again".
The trio got off the bus at Frankton roundabout, near Lakes District Hospital, where Ms Holden was treated for bruises and lacerations to her head and face.
Connectabus manager Earl Matheson would not comment on whether the driver had been stood down but said the matter had been referred to police.
He said the Department of Labour had also contacted him and was satisfied the matter was being dealt with appropriately.
"Obviously, if there's any person injured, we take the incident seriously. That's the proper channel to go down and that's what we've done," Mr Matheson said.
He confirmed the company had received a complaint from Ms Holden on the evening of the incident.
"We contacted police because there's two versions, I guess, of the story," Mr Matheson said.
Constable Hugh O'Reilly, of Queenstown, said police had not received a complaint from Ms Holden, although the incident had been put on file after police were contacted by Connectabus.
"At this point, the matter has been filed because we don't have a complaint but we're aware that there's a bit more to the story than has been reported," Const O'Reilly said.
Ms Holden said she tried to file a complaint but gave up after a non-sworn police receptionist said the matter was "not a police one".
She said she would now make a formal complaint to police.
"If the driver had actually even acknowledged that I had been injured and said I'm sorry, we wouldn't have taken it further," she said.
NZTA southern access and use manager Greg Allnutt confirmed he had received a complaint from Ms Holden on February 8.
He said the matter would be investigated and she would be advised of the outcome.
