Bus Driver Hailed Hero After Trusting Instincts, Helps Save Missing Man with Dementia
While many of our bus-driver-turned-hero stories come from the Milwaukee County Transit System, this particular episode hails from the west coast, illustrating that no matter where you are, there are good people around.
Camille Wilson is a bus driver with a route through Perris.
She works with the Riverside Transit Agency in Riverside, California.
The Golden State’s motto “Eureka” certainly applied in this case, as Wilson was able to identify a missing person and keep him calm and close until proper authorities could be contacted.
An alert went out on Nov. 2, 2019, while Wilson was driving, notifying listeners that an older gentleman with dementia was on the loose.
Somehow, the man who’d last been spotted in Corona had found his way onto her bus.
She didn’t realize it was him at first — but after chatting with him, she sensed something was off.
“He said he was on his way to a casino in Moreno Valley, but I knew there were no casinos in Moreno Valley,” she told The Press-Enterprise Riverside. “When he said that it kind of triggered me and so I kept asking him more questions and talked to him. He sat up front with me and, as we talked, I realized that this man was the missing man.”
Once she connected the dots, she parked her bus and contacted dispatch, beginning the difficult process of trying to convince the man to stay onboard without causing too much distress until the police could get there.
“He kept trying to get off the bus but I told him that this was not his stop yet and that he should stay here because I wanted to get him closer to his destination,” she explained.
It wasn’t just the man’s safety that she was concerned about — apparently it was clear he had a lot of cash on him, too.
“I was relieved when the police came because he had a lot of money on him and I was worried that, if he got off the bus, people would try to take advantage of him,” she said.
Wilson’s actions were noted, and though this kind act took place in November, she was just recently recognized with the RTA’s “hero” award.
“Our drivers do so much more than provide transportation from place to place, sometimes they are heroes in disguise,” Bradley Weaver, an RTA spokesman, told The Press-Enterprise. “Sometimes they do things for the community people don’t even know about. This was a perfect example of that.”
“I am really happy to receive the award because I felt like I did something really good,” Wilson added. “The recognition alone is awesome.”
“And I think it’s important to acknowledge when your employees do something good. It was really unexpected, but I was really happy to get this.”
The story has made the rounds on Facebook, with the Moreno Valley Matters page congratulating Wilson as well.
“For her efforts the evening of Nov. 2, Camille Wilson won the Riverside Transit Agency’s hero award,” they shared. “Congrats Camille!”
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