CHARLOTTE, NC — Most people wouldn’t think twice if we saw the pile of garbage on side of the road near a railway crossing in Steele Creek. But when a citizen whistleblower brought Channel 9 video showing who was throwing the garbage there, it got our attention.
The video shows Sam Chavis following a Charlotte-Mecklenburg school bus on John Price Road last week.
Chavis said he had previously watched the bus driver throw bags of trash out the door while stopped at the railway crossing. This time, he grabbed his camera phone.
Chavis provides commentary during the video.
“Watch them throw out a bag of trash. Every single day,” Chavis commented while recording from his truck.
Sure enough, right on cue, a bag of trash goes flying to the side of the road while his camera was rolling.
“It’s ridiculous. No one should be able to get away with this. No one,” Chavis said during an interview with Channel 9.
On Monday, he recorded the trash bag throwing again. He said he’s following “Bus 79” and told us it’s the same bus and driver every time.
Chavis said he’s personally watched it happen six different times and told Channel 9 that children were on the bus watching as well.
“You’re an adult. You’re making a lasting impression on these kids. What kind of message are you sending to them by just tossing this trash out to the side of the road,” Chavis said.
Channel 9 counted 15 similar bags tossed to the side of the road. Most of them appear to be filled with student's garbage -- candy wrappers, discarded homework, even letters to parents and a CMS labeled water bottle.
Littering, of course, is against the law. Eyewitness News checked and multiple offenses like this carry fines upwards of $2,000 plus community service.
“I don’t want anybody to lose their job over something like this, but definitely you need to be reprimanded,” Chavis said.
Channel 9 took the video to CMS on Wednesday. They thanked us for bringing the situation to their attention and said they would let us know the results of their internal investigation.
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