Brother and Sister Help Save School Bus Driver During Medical Emergency in Ohio

January 4, 2026

Quick-thinking siblings may have saved their school bus driver’s life during a medical emergency while transporting students on Dec. 16, reported Good News Network.

According to the news report, surveillance footage from inside the Crestview Local Schools bus, shows 8-year-old Catrina seated near the school bus driver, when she began having trouble breathing. Catrina asked the driver if she was okay, and she responded by shaking her head, no, her health was in danger.

Realizing something was wrong, Catrina ran to the back of the school bus to alert her older brother, Charlie, a seventh grader. He immediately rushed to the front, grabbed the bus radio, and contacted dispatch to report the emergency. At the same time, an eighth-grade student named Kali called 911.

Emergency responders were able to assist the driver, who was hospitalized and later discharged. It is unclear what kind of medical emergency the bus driver suffered. According to local news, the driver had previously instructed her regular riders on how to use the bus radio in case of an emergency, a lesson the students remembered when it mattered most.

“When I realized that something was going on, I went up there and grabbed the radio and then called the school because I knew that was the quickest way to get help,” Charlie told local news reporters.

Catrina praised her brother’s composure in helping their school bus driver.

“My brother… on the inside when something’s going wrong, he’s scared, but on the outside, he’s calm and concentrated,” she said.

Crestview Local Schools Superintendent Jim Grubbs commended the emergency response of the student heroes in helping to save the school bus driver’s life.

“They remained calm, communicated clearly, and helped one another in a situation that could have been much worse,” Grubbs said via the article. “Their families should be incredibly proud.” School officials say the incident highlights the importance of safety training and preparedness and the powerful impact young people can have in an emergency.