News and Knowledge

On November 11, 2015, officials from the Greyhound Bus Company at the New York Port Authority reported that a bus of theirs was missing. Thanks to installed GPS devices, it didn’t take long for the police to locate the bus in Brooklyn and apprehend the driver, a man by the name of Darius McCollum. Once the police called in the details, they soon realized that McCollum had done this before, many times before.

In fact, McCollum’s history of train or bus-related incidents dates back to his teens. McCollum, now 50, whose love of transit has landed him in jail 32 times for impersonating New York City bus drivers and subway conductors and driving their routes, is a man with Asperger Syndrome. The story of these recurring incidents and his corresponding interaction with the law and both the judicial and correctional custody systems has been captured in Off the Rails, a documentary released earlier this year and available exclusively through Sundance Now.

Here’s a little part of the back story: McCollum found sanctuary from school bullies in the subway. He befriended transit workers who taught him to drive trains—by age 8, he memorized the entire subway system and at 15, he drove a packed train eight stops by himself, making all the stops and announcements.

In a recent interview with The Mighty, a website where people share their personal experiences with disability and mental illness, Off the Rails Director Adam Irving stated, “I’d like viewers, especially New York judges, prosecutors, and legislators, to take action by helping Darius get out of the revolving door he’s been stuck in for 35 years. He needs therapy, not more incarceration. He needs advocates. Darius doesn’t have the tools to help himself so the only way he’s going to lead a productive life… is for someone with the power to make change to step up to the plate and help him.”

Sundance Now is a streaming service that offers members a curated selection of award-winning independent films, documentaries, and TV series. If you would like to view Off the Rails for free, Sundance Now is extending a special offer to OARacle subscribers for a free month on top of the seven-day free trial to check out the documentary and its streaming service. To sign up, simply visit sundancenow.com and put in this unique code: OAR. If you would like to continue the services after the trial, you can pay $6.99/month or $59.99/annual membership fee. You will be asked to provide credit card information as part of the sign up process. If you do not want the service beyond the trial period, you will have to cancel your subscription before the monthly charges begin.

OAR is publishing this article and sharing this offer as an information service to our readers. We are not receiving any monetary consideration from Sundance Now or the producers of Off the Rails.