A Detroit bus driver who expressed outrage about a woman getting on his bus and refusing to cover her mouth while coughing — in the middle of a pandemic — has tragically died from coronavirus.
Jason Hargrove‘s death from complications of COVID-19 was announced Thursday by Detroit’s Mayor Mike Duggan and the transit union of which Hargrove belonged.
His death comes 2 weeks after he posted a Facebook video about his frustrations over risking his life to serve the community … but not getting the same respect and consideration for his safety back from some people.
Hargrove’s March 21 video explained that a female passenger in her 40s or 50s got on his bus and coughed several times without covering her mouth.
He said … “We out here as public workers doing our job, trying to make an honest living to take care of our families. But for you to get on the bus and stand on the bus and cough several times without covering up your mouth and you know that we in the middle of a pandemic, that lets me know that some folks don’t care.”
Jason urged people to stay home if possible and take the coronavirus crisis seriously, adding … “It’s folks dying out here. I’m mad right about now because that s**t was uncalled for. And I’m trying to be the professional that they want me to be, so I kept my mouth closed … I feel violated. I feel violated for the folks that were on the bus when this happened.”
Mayor Duggan revealed Hargrove began feeling ill a few days after posting the video, and says the bus driver’s death has hit close to home.
Duggan says of Hargrove … “He knew his life was being put in jeopardy, even though he was going to work for the citizens of Detroit every day, by somebody who just didn’t care. By somebody who didn’t take this seriously. And now he’s gone.”
Hargrove leaves behind his wife.
RIP