Detroit father’s dying wish to have helicopter drops money and rose petals from the sky granted by sons

Making it rain one last time.

A Detroit man’s dying wish to have thousands of dollars fall from the sky by helicopter as his “last blessing” to his community was honored by his family last month.

Darrell “Plant” Thomas, a 58-year-old car wash owner in East Detroit known for his generosity, died after a battle with Alzheimer’s on June 15, and wanted to have a dramatic send–off.

At his funeral on June 27, his sons organized a helicopter to drop $5,000 and rose petals on unsuspecting mourners as they honored their father at the event held on Gratiot Avenue and Connor Street.

“This was a final expression of love from him to the community because he was a giver,” Thomas’s niece, Crystal Perry, told the Detroit Free Press.

“Yesterday was simply a farewell tribute to an Eastside legend.”

Footage from the event shows a helicopter hovering in a clear blue sky, while petals and money rain down, causing people to scream with excitement and rush to catch them on the ground.

In other videos, people are seen happily scooping up bills from the street, bending down to grab handfuls of cash as it floated across the pavement.

Traffic along the six-lane road of Gratiot Avenue came to a standstill for several minutes as funeral goers and onlookers rushed to grab some of the cash.

However, instead of turning into mayhem with people trying to fill their pockets, the crowd remained calm as they went for the money.

“Everybody got a little bit,” Lisa Knife, an employee at the nearby Airport Express Lube & Service, told the Detroit News of the surreal scene.

Knife said she didn’t rush to grab the money, but took the moment to admire how the gesture brought members of the Motor City community together.

“There was no fighting, none of that. It was really beautiful,” Knife said.

One of Thomas’s sons, Dante — better known as “Smoke” — told Fox 2 Detroit that he added some of his own cash and that the gesture was the least they could do to honor a man so beloved in his community.

“Detroit, y’all might not know who my father was, but he was a great father,” Smoke said.

“Among his community he was a legend, and he blessed everyone and that was his last blessing to everyone. That’s all it was. Many blessings to everyone and long live Plant. Long live Plant that’s it.”

The Detroit Police Department briefly closed off traffic to allow the crowd to enjoy Thomas’s final send-off safely. They were aware of the rose petals — but said they were surprised by the money.

Police said they are not investigating the incident. However, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has launched an investigation.

Thomas owned Showroom Shine Express, a business he poured his heart into for decades, and was known to many as a passionate professional race car driver with the National Hot Rod Association.