Detroit bus driver who posted video about coughing passenger, dies from coronavirus

DETROIT — A Detroit bus driver who complained about a coughing passenger in a video posted on social media, has died from the coronavirus.

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Jason Hargrove got sick four days after posting the video on March 21 where he went on a profanity-laced tirade about a woman who coughed repeatedly while on the bus. The bus drivers’ unions said Hargrove, 50, died Wednesday.

The coronavirus can spread through the air, health officials have said.

“Public workers doing our job, trying to make (an) honest living, take care of our families,” Hargrove said in the video. “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.”

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The city stopped collecting fares March 17. The buses were to be more thoroughly cleaned and passengers were required to enter and exit from the rear door only.

Mayor Mike Duggan expressed condolences and urged others to watch Hargroves’ 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.”