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An independent Detroit bus driver allegedly live-streamed himself finding kids and driving them to school because he felt bad for them walking in the cold — splitting the community over his ride-share deed.
Darrell Beaver advertised his transportation services on his Facebook page Wednesday morning, asking parents to have their children look out for his bus if they were walking to school on Detroit’s Eastside.
“Hey ill be on the Eastside this morning finding kids that walk to school and giving them a free ride let your kids know if a yellow bus with Ellamin’Op Transportation on it its safe to get on PLEASE SHARE AND DROP SOME LOCATION,” Beaver wrote.
Detroit Public Schools Community District officials sent out a warning when concerned parents reported the transportation company owner’s message.
“An unauthorized bus was reported. Students should only ride official DPSCD buses on assigned routes,” a mass text alert read, according to ABC 7 Detroit.
Beaver is only contracted to a planned route with the Braniacs Clubhouse Child Development Center in Detroit and has no affiliation with the public school district, but allegedly dropped off one child at Fisher Magnet Upper Academy with a parent’s permission.
The driver says he was only thinking about the well-being of the students who were outside in the deep freeze, where morning wind chills reached between 10 and 15 degrees below zero.
“I just jumped into help mode. Like, it was freezing. Again, I was in a bus for over an hour, and my feet were froze, so I felt bad to see these kids walking,” Beaver told the outlet.
An investigation into the “unauthorized bus” revealed Beaver had no ill-intention but school officials were concerned about the liability of the driver and bad actors that would take advantage of any laxed guidelines.
“Removing this gentleman from the equation, we don’t have any information or evidence to suggest he had any nefarious intention,” school safety Police Chief Labrit Jackson said. “But (we’re) just really focusing on sending the message to our young people do not get into vehicles with strangers.
“The next person who’s watching this now, we’ve given him an idea, we’ve planted a seed that they can use as a, no pun intended, but a vehicle to have access to our children,” Jackson added.
“These are children that are most likely taught to be not disrespectful to adults,” he said. “So do not put them in position where they have to be defiant and tell you no.”
Beaver claimed it wasn’t normal for him to offer random students rides, but felt bad for them.
Parents were split on the outrage directed towards Beaver. Some parents defended Beaver, saying he was serving the community after some parents couldn’t afford traditional ride-share trips for their children.
“I was kinda like, I wasn’t mad, but I was just like hurt cause we was really trying to go to work and school,” Jimerson told the outlet. “Lift is $50. I don’t have $50 to get to school, to get them to school at 6-something in the morning.”
Beaver said he doesn’t make money off the extra students he drives.
“This man is clearly helping those children who don’t have a ride right??? So if he’s a child abductor, why would he make a whole page about his service to help,” one comment read on Beaver’s Facebook.
“I bet the main ones opposing are the ones that has transportation for their children.. Smh.. If it’s for you GREAT if not SCROOLL No need to bash!!” another wrote.
Others saw Beaver as a safety risk for students.
“Who knows in this day and age who knows what you want to do with someone else’s children,” parent Alana Jackson told Fox 2 Detroit. “But even with insurance liability issues, with safety issues, with stranger danger issues, it’s totally inappropriate.”
“We just need to be careful about our children. That’s why I brave the cold, that’s why I’m here, so when she comes right out that door, she comes right into this car,” parent Diana Longmire said outside Fisher Magnet.
The school district is not pursuing charges against Beaver, who agreed to stop offering rides to students not on his route.
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