Bus driver who stopped carjacking in Philly invited to SOTU

A veteran Philadelphia bus operator who prevented a carjacking while on his route will be at Tuesday night’s “State of the Union” address, following a personal invitation.

According to The Philadelphia Inquirer, Chris DeShields said that Pennsylvania Rep. Brendan Boyle’s request to travel to Washington, D.C., to attend Tuesday’s speech by President Joe Biden is an honor, and the 17-year SEPTA driver is “looking forward to the trip.”

Once driven to Washington by a Boyle aide, DeShields will meet the Democratic congressman in person, take a tour of the Capitol with increased security and attend a reception in the office of Democratic Minority Leader Rep. Hakeem Jeffries of New York.

“I got a little bit of a big head,” DeShields said, The Inquirer reported. “I was joking with my buddy that I’ve got a security detail outside. … The attention has been very good. People have been so nice.”

DeShields was operating his Route 5 bus in Fishtown around 10 p.m. on Jan. 25 when he noticed three men holding up a woman for her car, with one snatching the keys. He stopped the attempted carjacking by using his bus to block the would-be robbers before yelling out of his window and pressing on the horn. The thwarted thieves took off running.

Five people were on DeShields’ bus when he got involved in the incident, according to an earlier account in The Inquirer.

“I caught hell in the depot the next day,” DeShields recalled, according to The Inquirer. “My coworkers were laughing and teasing me, saying, ‘We heard you were Batman.'”

Chris Valentin, the chief bus operations officer for SEPTA, claimed that while drivers have aided criminal victims and persons in need and called the police, he has never heard of a bus operator getting involved in an ongoing carjacking or robbery.

SEPTA regulation mandates that its bus drivers maintain their safety — and that of other people’s — and discourage them from getting involved in criminal activity. However, transportation authorities’ officials stressed that drivers are free to exercise discretion within that framework.

“I don’t recommend people go out and fight crime, and I don’t have any kind of training for that,” DeShields said, agreeing with the SEPTA policy, The Inquirer reported. “But as a citizen, I think you need to help out if you can. See something, say something.”

DeShields recalled that after the threat had passed, he exited his bus and went into a nearby bar to ask patrons to keep an eye on the woman until help could arrive. Weeks later, his daring actions and the resulting invitation from Boyle have reserved him a special seat in the House visitors gallery for Tuesday night’s proceedings.

“It’s such a nice story about someone who’s unquestionably a hero,” Boyle said, according to The Inquirer, and “an opportunity to do something nice for Chris and say thank you.”

For Boyle, DeShields’ bold act was even more touching: The congressman’s Irish immigrant father, Frank, worked as a janitor on the Broad Street Line, inspiring a special affection and respect in him for transit workers.

“To be able to honor a SEPTA worker gives me great joy,” Boyle said, The Inquirer noted. “It’s so easy to be cynical. I think people are just craving things to celebrate and cheer that are inherently good.”

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