Jason Hargrove Detroit bus driver who complained about a coughing passenger on Facebook died from coronavirus four days later. 20% of DDOT drivers placed on quarantine.
A Detroit bus driver who raged about a coughing passenger, ‘not covering up her mouth,’ on social media has died from COVID-19 days later- officials said Thursday.
Jason Djinfiniti Hargrove felt ill about four days after posting a video on Facebook on March 21. He died Wednesday, said Glenn Tolbert, the head of the drivers union, Detroit’s wxyz reports.
Hargrove, 50, posted a profanity-laced video complaining about a woman whom he said had repeatedly coughed while on his bus. The coronavirus can spread through air droplets after people cough or sneeze. The woman was not in the video.
Following Hargrove’s death, Tolbert revealed at least eight DDOT workers having tested positive for COVID-19 and that 133 others were currently quarantined. That’s one-quarter of the city’s 530 drivers.
Posted by Jason Djinfiniti Hargrove on Saturday, March 21, 2020
Public transport workers performing a necessary evil:
In his post, Hargrove said drivers are ‘public workers doing our job, trying to make an honest living, take care of our families.’
‘For you to get on the bus … and cough several times without covering up your mouth and you know (we’re) in the middle of a pandemic — that lets me know that some folks don’t care,’ Hargrove added.
‘At some point in time we’ve got to draw the line and say enough is enough. I feel violated,’ he said.
On March 17, the city eliminated fares, promised more cleaning and told bus riders to enter and exit from the rear door only. The changes occurred after drivers declined to work that day to protest conditions.
Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan during a Thursday press conference said ‘everybody in America’ should watch Hargrove’s video.
‘He was infected before we closed the front doors’ on buses, Duggan said. ‘Some of his language is graphic, but I don’t know how you can watch it and not tear up. He knew his life was being put in jeopardy … by someone who didn’t take this seriously and now he’s gone.’
Adding, ‘He knew the risks, was vocal about the risks, and he went to work anyway.’
Which is to wonder did Hargrove really have the choice or economic means not to go to work?
Duggan now says he wished the city had taken that precaution weeks earlier, claiming Hargrove was infected before ‘distancing rules’ went into place.
DDOT is currently operating their buses on a reduced schedule because of the coronavirus and the measures put into place to stop the spread.
Not immediately clear is whether there was a link between the coughing passenger and Hargrove’s lung infection which ultimately killed him.
