An Ohio bus driver, Jackie Miller, may have resigned from her post after going viral in an expletive-laden video — but the peace of mind (and outpouring of support) she now has will likely make it all worth it.
The now-former Amherst, Ohio, school bus driver spoke to WKYC about the certifiably viral incident and it’s pretty evident that the driver had reached the end of her figurative rope.
“That particular day was challenging to say the very least because it started the minute this core group of students got on the bus,” Miller told WKYC’s Bri Buckley.
According to Miller, that “core group” was a known group of irritants that had been harassing the bus driver for two years.
From Miller’s and WKYC’s account of the incident in question, this isn’t a matter of Miller getting annoyed with typical childhood troublemaking. This core group of students was literally putting Miller’s life in danger with their antics.
Just last month, Miller recounted how the troublesome students had willfully triggered a bad asthmatic attack by spraying perfume and strong fragrances in the bus.
“[A student] sprayed perfume on the bus and I had a horrible asthma attack. I had to stop the bus, grab my inhaler and try to get my lungs to open up again. I had all the kids open up all the windows they know this,” Miller said.
The latest incident also involved the alleged spraying of strong fragrances on the bus, and ultimately led to this viral incident caught on camera:
WARNING: The following video contains language the reader may find disturbing
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“How much more do you expect me to f***ing take?” Miller said in the viral video, which has been all over social media.
After bickering with a student who denies that any dangerous perfume was sprayed, Miller lets the student know that she “can smell it.”
“I’m sick of you, I’m sick of all of this s***, I’m done with it!” Miller yelled. “I’m going to start kicking some f***ing serious a**.”
Miller continued, pointing her finger at the students, and was demonstrably upset about the whole incident.
“My foot’s going to be so far up your g**d***ed a**, it’s going to dangle out your f***ing nose,” Miller said.
That last, colorful bit of anatomical description actually ended up being something of a slogan as others began hearing about Miller’s plight. As Miller’s story started to gain traction, so too did local Ohio philanthropists who wanted to help the now-jobless Miller retire.
A GoFundMe was promptly set up for her by fellow Ohioans, and, as of this writing, has reached $72,000 of the $80,000 goal.
On top of that, the “Mistakes on the Lakes” apparel company began printing out shirts about feet hanging from noses — with $5 of each sale going directly to Miller herself.
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“There’s just no words to say how grateful that I am for the people who have supported me,” Miller told WKRC. “It restores your faith in humanity. It makes you think that not all people are bad, that there’s really good people in the world.”
So, after all the harassment, health scares, t-shirts, and virality… would Miller change anything about what had happened?
“I’m sorry for the way this went down, I truly am,” Miller said. “I do apologize for my actions, but I won’t take it back.”
