Gene Hubbard, a blind Wisconsin man, has been taking the same route to work every day for almost 20 years. But when recent construction practically barricaded his careful, step-by-step routine, a Milwaukee County Transit System bus driver stepped up to lend a helping hand, according to Fox 6 News story that has since gotten national attention on CNN.
Thaddaus Turner, 28, was driving a bus along Hubbard’s daily route. It was difficult enough to navigate the construction just driving it, let alone going through it without the benefit of sight. Turner saw that Hubbard was going to have an impossible task wading through the construction to get to work.
“The route was barricaded, it was rough for me as a driver, I can only imagine how rough it was for him,” Turner told CNN.
So Turner held Hubbard’s arm steady as they walked to the other side of the construction. A bystander captured a photograph of it and pretty soon the photo went viral.
“I was surprised when I saw it in the news,” Turner said. “I didn’t think I would be here right now over something that is second nature to me, and my colleagues.”
Turner’s colleagues, Milwaukee Transit drivers, have their eyes open all the time everywhere they go. Bus drivers have ran through traffic to help a man in a wheelchair or pulled over to help people who fell in the snow. They are vital in spotting people in need of assistance.
As for Hubbard, he is grateful that someone was on the lookout for his needs.
“I just can’t say enough about all the bus drivers,” Hubbard, who is 69 years old, told CNN affiliate WITI. “If I don’t have a regular locating point to start from, I may as well be in the middle of the ocean.”
