‘Taken away’: Mother of slain CATS bus driver has message for suspect still wanted by police

CHARLOTTE — For more than two weeks, the family of Ethan Rivera has been searching for answers and closure.

Rivera, a Charlotte Area Transportation System (CATS) bus driver, lost his life on Feb. 11 while doing his job. His mother spoke to Channel 9 for the first time since arrest warrants were issued for her son’s accused killer.

His family and colleagues say Rivera was a great co-worker, a father of two, and a wonderful son.

[‘He was a good person’: Vigil held for slain CATS bus driver Ethan Rivera]

“A piece of my heart is dark and that’s where my son should be,” Sylvia Rivera told Channel 9.

Police said Ethan Rivera was behind the wheel of his bus when he was shot in an act of road rage.

“His kids are going to grow up without a dad,” Sylvia Rivera said. “As much as he loved them, and moved down to North Carolina to be with them, he was taken away.”

Sylvia Rivera spoke over Zoom to Channel 9 from her home in New York. She remembered the night she got the worst phone call of her life.

“When they spoke to me then, that’s when we found out that it was a head injury and that’s when I lost it,” she said.

[Warrant: Suspect wanted in road rage killing of CATS bus driver identified]

Police are looking for 21-year-old Darian Dru Thavychith. An arrest warrant says he murdered Ethan. But despite their best efforts to catch him, so far he has eluded capture and that is frustrating to Sylvia Rivera.

“I get phone calls, 704 numbers and I get excited and I don’t understand what’s taking so long,” she said. “They have his name, they have his picture.”

Darian Dru Thavychith Darian Dru Thavychith (WSOC)

One of the things that has lifted her up is the support shown by Ethan’s fellow bus drivers and their effort to make their job safer by asking for bulletproof shields.

“The most important thing they can do for my, son so his death is not in vain, is to protect their other drivers,” she said.

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Rivera talked to Channel 9 to make sure her son is not forgotten, and to appeal to the public to help the police.

“Somebody knows where he is, where he’s staying,” she said. “You’re harboring a fugitive and you should speak up and say something.”

And if he’s listening, Rivera has a message for the suspect, too.

“If you have any kind of conscience, give yourself up,” she said. “This is a cruel thing that you did and you did it to a great man that was coming into his own.”

(Watch the video below: ‘That could have been me’: CATS workers push for additional safety measures after road rage shooting)