"The high price of keeping Detroit Moving" - For The Washington Post - April 2020.
On March 17th, transit came to a temporary halt with many drivers refusing to drive until the city of Detroit created more protections for them. The death of Detroit bus driver Jason Hargrove, whose emotional video went viral after a passenger coughed on him, exacerbated tensions. Jason died of COVID-19 days after the video was shared, leaving behind his wife and children.
Pictured with bus stops along their routes:
Tina Rhone, 41, a bus operator of 4 years who was quarantined at home with Covid-19. Her 15 year old daughter was also diagnosed and she said she felt immense guilt about possibly bringing it home to her.
Sean Martin, 49. Martin said he was worried about new risks of exposure since the city had made bus rides free. The buses had become a popular place to sleep for the city’s homeless population.
Christopher Whitehorn, 48. Chris had been a bus driver for 14 years and was recovering from COVID-19.
Reggie Glasgow, 34. Glasgow felt the risk was too high to keep driving, as he has a heart condition, and went on an unpaid leave on March 18th.
Deandre Washington, 31. Washington voiced that driver’s wages were not worth risking their lives. He felt he was getting sick and recently took time off work, but thankfully did not have Coronavirus.
Eric Colts, the brother in-law and best friend of Jason Hargrove, outside of the funeral home as he and his sister, also pictured, made arrangements for Jason's funeral. Eric kept driving, doing the best he said he could to stay safe and utilize some of the new resources the city had provided, like a 15-minute COVID-19 test.
Photographed on medium format film.
