A group of Mississippi students is being hailed as heroes after stepping in when their school bus driver lost consciousness.
The 46-year-old driver had just left a middle school in Hancock County with about 40 students on board when she suffered an asthma attack and passed out. She reached over for her medication, but blacked out before she could take it.
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Middle school students take control
The bus began to swerve along a four-lane highway. A sixth-grader sitting behind the driver grabbed the wheel, while another rushed forward and slammed on the brakes.
“I didn’t have time to process my emotions,” the student sitting behind the driver said. “I just wanted to make sure that nobody got hurt.”
The students steered the bus into the median, shifted it into park and brought it to a stop. Another student called 911, but she later added she could barely hear the operator because so many students were screaming.
Once the student secured the bus, they located the driver’s nebulizer and helped her use it until first responders arrived. The driver is expected to recover, and no students were harmed on board.
Praise for the students
Local officials praised the students for their quick thinking and calm under pressure. They were honored at a pep rally at their school, and are being treated to a lunch field trip at a restaurant of their choosing.
“What they did took courage,” principal Dr. Melissa Saucier said. “They didn’t wait for somebody to step in, they stepped up themselves, and that says a lot about their character.”
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