After a career of driving buses cross-country, William Thomas, a civil rights activist originally from Selma, Alabama, chose to drive a Lyft during his retirement. He's been doing it around Detroit for three years and told Fox 2, "East side, west side, north side, south side, I'm everywhere. I love it, man." Driving isn't all he loves, he also is always trying to help others, saying, "When I can help one person my day is not in vain." Sadly, it's a misunderstanding from helping others that got him terribly shamed on Facebook.
Last week, William picked up a passenger and when he greeted her, he asked her how she was doing. She responded that she was sick. Since William was just getting over a cold, he had some peppermint oil in his car. A fan essential oil, William credited it for helping him overcome his illness. He put some on a tissue and gave it to his passenger, explaining, "All you got to do is [sniff] and pass it over your nose and it will help you breathe."
Not understanding that William was just trying to help, and unsure of what was on the tissue, the passenger instead took a picture of it and posted it to Facebook along with William's photo and license plate. She wrote how she was scared for her life and planned to go to a police station.
The post went viral and William eventually heard from all three of his sisters who called him and told him his "picture is all over Facebook." His response, "For what? What did I do?"
Now he says, his photo is "plastered everywhere, all the way down in Florida," and he is trying to clear his name. He went to the police to see if they could get the post down but they said there is nothing they can do.
Fox 2 spoke with the passenger, who stated that she attempted to get Lyft to open an investigation but Lyft is not planning on doing it. As yet, she hasn't gone to the police. She did note that when William handed her the tissue, she felt threatened and was truly afraid.
William is now the one who is scared - fearful this misunderstanding will affect his job. He said, "I can't believe you try to help people and they stab you in the back like this."
Photo: Fox 2 Detroit