Reply #1: Some were BEGGING to help, but were prevented--and get this: [View All]

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=104x4628124
kid that saved a bus load of people is now in jail for
stealing bus
http://stevegilliard.blogspot.com/2005/09/jailed-for-saving-lives.html

In Massachusetts We'd Call This Yankee Ingenuity

A friend on a lawyer listserve sent me this story. This kid is
definitely getting a pro bono lawyer. He found an abandoned
bus in New Orleans, packed it with survivors, and drove it to
the Astrodome. The reaction of the officials? They're going to
charge him with theft. Unbelievable.

This kid is a hero. They should give him a medal. He evacuated
100 people faster than FEMA.

The link is to the video from the television story, followed
by the transcript.

Taking refuge in the AstrodomeThursday, September 01, 2005
Updated: 07:55 PM

HOUSTON -- NEWSCHANNEL 5 crews were in Houston as some
desperate refugees arrive in a stolen bus.

HOUSTON -- Thousands of refugees of Hurricane Katrina were
transported to the Astrodome in Houston this week. In an
extreme act of looting, one group actually stole a bus to
escape ravaged areas in Louisiana.

About 100 people packed into the stolen bus. They were the
first to enter the Houston Astrodome, but they weren't exactly
welcomed.

The big yellow school bus wasn't expected or approved to pass
through the stadium's gates. Randy Nathan, who was on the bus,
said they were desperate to get out of town.

"If it werent for him right there," he said,
"we'd still be in New Orleans underwater. He got the bus
for us."

Eighteen-year-old Jabbor Gibson jumped aboard the bus as it
sat abandoned on a street in New Orleans and took control.

"I just took the bus and drove all the way here...seven
hours straight,' Gibson admitted. "I hadn't ever drove a
bus."

The teen packed it full of complete strangers and drove to
Houston. He beat thousands of evacuees slated to arrive there.

"It's better than being in New Orleans," said fellow
passenger Albert McClaud, "we want to be somewhere where
we're safe."

During a long and impatient delay, children popped their heads
out of bus windows and mothers clutched their babies.

One 8-day-old infant spent the first days of his life
surrounded by chaos. He's one of the many who are homeless and
hungry.

Authorities eventually allowed the renegade passengers inside
the dome.

But the 18-year-old who ensured their safety could find
himself in a world of trouble for stealing the school bus.

"I dont care if I get blamed for it ," Gibson said,
"as long as I saved my people."

Sixty legally chartered buses were expected to arrive in
Houston throughout the night. Thousands of people will be
calling the Astrodome "home," at least for now.