Five middle school students in Mississippi saved dozens of lives when they took control of their school bus after the driver collapsed from an asthma attack while driving on a four-lane highway with 40 children aboard.
Seconds To Act
The incident unfolded on Wednesday afternoon as the Hancock County School District bus departed Hancock Middle School. Driver Leah Taylor, 46, suffered an asthma attack and reached for her medication, but blacked out before administering it. Sixth grader Jackson Casnave, 12, sat directly behind Taylor and noticed the bus beginning to swerve across the highway. He immediately jumped up to grab the steering wheel and yelled for other students to call for help.
Twelve-year-old Darrius Clark, another sixth grader, rushed forward and hit the brakes. Working together, Casnave and Clark maneuvered the bus onto the median and shifted it into park, preventing what could have been a catastrophic crash. The coordinated response happened within seconds as other students screamed in panic.
Medical Response From Students
Kayleigh Clark, Darrius’ 13-year-old sister, sprinted from the back of the bus to call 911, struggling to hear the emergency operator over the chaos. Eighth grader Destiny Cornelius, 15, noticed Taylor holding a nebulizer for her asthma. Cornelius administered the medicine while McKenzy Finch, a 13-year-old sixth grader, supported Taylor’s head. Finch also answered Taylor’s ringing phone and informed the district’s transportation team about the emergency unfolding on the highway.
Recognition And Recovery
Taylor has made a full recovery and expressed profound gratitude for her students’ actions. The school district honored the five students at a Friday pep rally, and they will receive a lunch field trip to a restaurant of their choice. Principal Dr. Melissa Saucier praised their courage and character, noting they stepped up without waiting for adult intervention. The students’ quick thinking and willingness to act under extreme pressure demonstrated maturity beyond their years and prevented what emergency responders say could have resulted in multiple fatalities on the busy highway.
Sources
Associated Press: Mississippi middle school students stop bus from crashing after driver blacks out
Bless their precious little souls. I am so grateful that they were not afraid to jump in and help. They must have magnificent parents as well.
This article made me cry for the bravery of the students that saved so many lives.
YES agree. They were BRAVE and SMART at the same time. They were able to do what needed to be done and may have save most of the kids riding on the bus that day… At the same time anything can happen to a drive. It could be asthma attack, or a heart attack or even a full stroke or a mini-stoke (T.I.A.) … The school district should have medical records on ALL of their drivers and follow up to be sure they have all the test they need and are totally physically and mentally capable of handling a bus full of kids… And even then, we never know. Just hope and pray all kids are safe and the drivers as well… I know those parents of really proud of their children…
OMG this is so amazing & so brave of these students to do what they did. God Bless each and everyone of them. Speaks well of the parents too. This gal driving the bus has best be no longer driving a school bus.
Wonderful to hear. It is unfortunate that we hear more about trouble youths, usually living in unsafe conditions with troubled parents. Hats off to these brave bright children.
Someone tell the headline writer it isn’t hijacking when you grab the controls because the driver is unconscious.
I agree. Anything to catch the eye.
I love articles like this. Back in the 70s when I was growing up, I read an article in the newspaper about a similar situation, but in this case, the bus driver was a diabetic, and he fell unconscious at the wheel. The bus was full of high schoolers, and one teen grabbed the wheel, another two pulled the driver from his seat, and an 18 year old took over the driving. Some students kept sugar on the driver’s tongue, and the bus was driven to the nearest hospital. The driver recovered, and expressed his gratitude. I believe the kids involved were awarded recognition of heroism certificates, and as noted, got their names in the paper. Their parents were very proud of them, as was their school.
These kids are exemplary. They showed adults how to behave and act during a stressful situation. People have to work, even with medical issues. Emergency situations of many kinds can happen to anyone. Most often, things work out ok.