The story of an Ottawa teen getting his phone stolen on an OC Transpo bus will have a happy ending.
Fraser MacDonald’s 14-year-old son was alone on a 94 bound for downtown Ottawa Saturday when he was swarmed and his iPhone taken.
“It was his first ride downtown by himself, with a friend to do some shopping,” MacDonald said. “To get a phone call like that, I was envisioning the worst.”
It was then that driver Glen Cartier-Blackwell stopped the bus, helped the teens call police and took care of them until their parents arrived.
“I hope someone would if my child was in a similar situation,” he said. “Being a parent obviously changes your perspective.”
OC Transpo drivers, who admit they get a bad rap at times, are now raising money to buy MacDonald’s son a new phone.
“He’s very, very touched,” Fraser said. “He’s beside himself that they would do it.”
“It does tear at your heart strings and makes you feel good about the employees that we have in that organization,” said Diane Deans, head of Ottawa’s transit committee.
Cartier-Blackwell said he was just doing his job.
“It was personal for me, that’s my office when I’m driving,” he said. “I obviously want to have a safe environment at all times.”
MacDonald said he’s more than grateful and tracked down Cartier-Blackwell’s phone number to personally say thanks.
“That OC Transpo cares about their passengers to the point that they would do something like that is incredible,” MacDonald said.
“To have the young boy’s father call me and say thank you, at the end of the day that means a lot,” Cartier-Blackwell said.
The teen didn’t want to appear on camera, as the suspects still haven’t been caught.
OC Transpo drivers have so far raised slightly more than $200 towards a new iPhone.
With a report from CTV Ottawa’s Catherine Lathem
