Students in Pennsylvania stopped a moving school bus after their driver experienced a medical emergency near a Hollidaysburg Area School District junior high building, reported USA Today.
The Sept. 17 incident was captured on a security camera inside the school bus. Several students rushed to the front of the vehicle, while others directed their classmates to apply the brakes and call for help over the radio.
Ben Caldwell, the district’s director of human resources and transportation, said a few students sustained minor injuries. The bus driver is doing well following the medical emergency and returned to work.
The approximately 40-second recording begins with students exiting the bus while it is stopped. Moments later, the vehicle slowly begins moving forward, and one student asks the driver whether she can get off.
As the bus continues moving, students reportedly recognize that something is wrong and begin responding. Some scramble toward the driver’s area, while others shout instructions about stopping the vehicle and contacting someone for assistance.
“Our bus driver just passed out,” a student says near the end of the clip.
A few students fall forward during the incident, but Caldwell said via the article, “all injuries were extremely minor and superficial.”
According to the news report, an earlier district statement recognized 10th grader Alexis Smith for helping stop the bus after the driver became unresponsive. The statement credited Smith with requesting emergency assistance over the bus radio and checking the driver’s pulse and breathing until first responders arrived.
District officials said Smith’s participation in health and medical science training at the Greater Altoona Career and Technology Center helped prepare her to respond calmly during the emergency, according to that report. Medical personnel took over the driver’s care upon arrival.
Caldwell’s subsequent update indicated that the driver had resumed working following the medical emergency. The information he provided did not specify the nature of the driver’s medical condition.
Written with the assistance of AI.
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