Ex-Marine Helps Students After School Bus Rollover

May 7, 2026

A North Greene alum and Marine Corps veteran was the first to assist students and staff after a school bus rollover Wednesday in Illinois. He helped guide passengers to safety before emergency crews arrived, reported My Journal Courier.

Kendrick Ballard, 44, of Jerseyville, said via the news report that he was driving his 12-year-old stepson to White Hall Park when they came upon the crash scene.

“The bus was on its side, and I knew the kids needed assistance getting out there and out of there as quickly as possible,” the ex-Marine told local news.

According to the article, Ballard immediately pulled over and began helping students exit the bus and moved them away from the roadway. Video recorded by his stepson shows Ballard directing students to safety and assisting them as they exited through the rear doors.

Rollover Crash Could Have Been Far Worse

Eleven students and one staff member were reportedly injured in the rollover crash. Ballard said most of the injuries appeared minor.

“There were some kids with some scrapes, and they were bleeding a little bit, but from what I saw, most of them were just really shook up,” he continued.

Ballard said he was unaware his stepson had begun recording video until later. The footage was subsequently shared with local media by a community member, who praised the ex-Marine’s willingness to act.

Ballard credited first responders and school staff, emphasizing their quick response. “It was a bad situation, but the first responders were fantastic, and North Greene’s teachers and staff were fantastic, too,” he said.

The incident reportedly marks at least the second time Ballard has been recognized for assisting others in an emergency. In 2010, the Marine Corps veteran helped rescue a woman and her two children from a car trapped in floodwaters in Springfield.

“I would like to think it was a natural instinct to go and save someone who was in trouble,” Ballard said at the time.