Bus Driver Loses Consciousness Mid-Route, Forcing 7th Grader to Snap Into Action
A seventh-grade boy in Michigan became an unlikely hero Wednesday when he grabbed the wheel of his school bus after the driver lost consciousness.
Superintendent Robert Livernois of the Warren Consolidated Schools district, which serves the Michigan cities of Warren, Sterling Heights and Troy, wrote on Facebook about the young man’s efforts.
“During the transport of students home from Carter Middle School after school today, one of our bus drivers became lightheaded and lost consciousness while the bus was traveling on Masonic Boulevard near Bunert Road,” Livernois wrote.
“A quick-thinking 7th-grade male student saw the driver in distress, stepped to the front of the bus and helped bring it to a stop without incident. The Warren Police and Fire Departments responded very quickly, tended to the driver, and the students were safely loaded onto a different bus to make their way home.”
“The actions of the student who helped stop the bus made all the difference today, and I could not be prouder of his efforts,” he said.
The school district didn’t name the young hero, but Warren Councilman Jonathan Lafferty was less reticent.
“The City of Warren is very proud of our 7th Grade Hero Dillon Reeves!” Lafferty wrote in a Facebook post of his own.
“This young man jumped into action when his school bus driver experienced a medical emergency, bringing the bus to a stop and avoiding what could have been a very tragic accident.
“We are very proud of you for your heroic actions!” he added.
A Facebook post from Ireta Marie Reeves, whom The Detroit News identified as Dillon’s stepmother, said the school bus might have hit “a car and a house … in its path” had Dillon not stepped to the front of the bus to stop it.
“On the way home from school today Dillons bus driver passed out at the wheel and Dillon jumped into action and stopped the bus and Saved all the kids, a car and house it could have hit in its path!!” she wrote. “He is the Local HERO!!”
“His principal arrived to the scene as well as Warren Police and Fire dept. Everyone is so proud of him!!”
Ireta Marie Reeves noted that the bus driver was transported to a hospital by ambulance.
In a separate post, she credited Jesus for Dillon’s “bravery and swift action.”
“He has no idea the amount of people who are so proud of him today,” she wrote.
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