Heroic MTA Bus Driver Moonlights As New York Liberty Dancer, Performs at WNBA Finals Game

Luis Jimenez is a longtime member of the Timeless Torches dance troupe.

An MTA bus driver who went viral for helping a little girl wandering alone through New York is stepping into a different spotlight.

The driver, Luis Jimenez, is a member of the Timeless Torches dance troupe. The squad performs for the New York Liberty, most recently at the team’s WNBA Finals games. Jimenez rocked his uniform, a black Torches jersey with matching track pants, during the Torches’ Oct. 13 performance at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn.

The 60-year-old bus driver could not stop the feeling during his performance in Game 2 of the WNBA finals, in which the Liberty defeated the Minnesota Lynx. Jimenez has danced with the troupe for over a decade. He called the hobby a “fountain of youth” that helps him stay agile for his main job.

“It keeps your energy, everything you have to bring,” Jimenez told the New York Post. “Helping people out driving the bus is the best thing in the world. I help the elderly with where they gotta go, give special need to them.”

In September, while working his day job, Jimenez stopped his city bus after noticing a 5-year-old girl walking through upper Manhattan alone.

Before intervening, Jimenez urged one of his passengers to call the authorities. For the city employee, it was a no-brainer to help the child, especially when she went into the street.

“My instinct as a father came on because if I see a kid in the street in need of help, I would want somebody to help one of my children or one of my grandkids,” Jimenez explained to ABC7.

After bringing her onto the bus, Jimenez and the passengers waited until the police came. She had been reported missing by her school, 10 blocks from where Jimenez found her. Police later reunited the girl with her family.