Quick-thinking schoolchildren prevented a potential disaster after the driver of their school bus lost consciousness at the wheel on a four-lane highway in Mississippi.
Driver Suffers Asthma Attack
Driver Leah Taylor, 46, suffered an asthma attack shortly after leaving Hancock Middle School in Hancock County, Mississippi, with 40 children on board. She reached for her medication but lost consciousness before she could take it, leaving the bus hurtling down the highway.
In a matter of seconds, students sprang into action to avert disaster. Jackson Casnave, aged just 12, was sitting directly behind the driver when the bus started to swerve.
Brave Actions of Students
Plucky Jackson jumped to the rescue, grabbing the wheel while telling others to call for help. "I didn't have time to process my emotions," he said. "I just wanted to make sure that nobody got hurt."
Meanwhile, Darrius Clark, another sixth-grader also aged 12, hit the brakes. Together, the two children brought the bus to a stop on the central reservation during the hair-raising incident on Wednesday.
Darrius's sister, 13-year-old Kayleigh, ran from the back of the bus to the driver and called emergency services. She said she could hardly hear the operator over the sound of children screaming. "I was scared, but also I had to help," the eighth grader said.
Another eighth grader, Destiny Cornelius, 15, also came to the rescue, spotting that the driver was holding a nebulizer for treating asthma symptoms. Destiny was able to administer the medicine while McKenzy Finch, a 13-year-old sixth grader, held Leah Taylor's head steady.
McKenzy also answered the driver's ringing phone and informed the school district transportation team of what had happened.
Driver Grateful, Students Honored
The driver, who has now made a full recovery, said: "I'm grateful for my students; they're the ones that saved my life and everybody else's on that bus."
The school held a pep rally on Friday to honor the brave students, and they will be taken on a lunch field trip next week to a restaurant of their choosing.
Principal Dr. Melissa Saucier said: "What they did took courage. They didn't wait for somebody to step in; they stepped up themselves, and that says a lot about their character."
