‘Detroit Walking Man’ is ABC’s Person of the Week

We have an update on the 'Detroit Walking Man', James Robertson.  After 10 years of walking 21 miles to and from work, 56 year old James is getting a new car!

And it's free!  The car is a 2015 Red Ford Taurus. It comes from a car dealer who admired James' work ethic, Even though he trudges through rain, snow, sleet, and hail, James is never late and never absent from his factory job.

The whole story came to light thanks to banker Blake Pollock.  He is the guy who discovered Robertson while driving to work.  Blake took the story to the Detroit Free Press.  Blake says he spent months telling friends and colleagues about James, but no one would believe him.

After 19-year-old Evan Leedy saw the Detroit Free Press story, he was inspired to do something.  The Wayne State University student started the Go Fund Me campaign to get James a new car.  In just a few days the fund has raised $300,000, and James' story has spread all over the world.

All three of them, James, Blake and Evan will be featured on World News Tonight, (Feb 6), as James is named the "Person of the Week".

You will hear how James started walking to work a decade ago after his aging Honda stopped working.  His employer moved nine miles north from Madison Heights to Rochester Hills. Bus service was repeatedly cut back in metro Detroit, forcing him to walk longer and longer distances.

The Detroit Free Press reports James' story may help those facing the same situation in Michigan cities with limited or no public transportation.  "That story is heartbreaking and it's not necessary," said Michael Ford, the CEO of the Regional Transit Authority, which is trying to improve public transportation across metro Detroit. "There's more that we can do."