US kids bring school bus to halt after driver passes out; awarded

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Forty students of Hancock Middle School in Hancock County were honoured at a pep rally for stopping a runaway school bus and safely bringing it to a halt.

The incident took place after a driver passed out while on a four-lane highway earlier this week and the students were honoured by the school on Saturday.

The bus had left the school on Wednesday with the 40 children on board when Leah Taylor, 46, the driver, had an asthma attack. She reached for her medication but blacked out before she could get it.

In a matter of seconds, the students sprang into action.

Sixth-grader Jackson Casnave, 12, who was sitting directly behind the driver, noticed the bus beginning to swerve. Casnave jumped up to steer and told others to call for help.

"I didn't have time to process my emotions," Casnave said. "I just wanted to make sure that nobody got hurt."

Another sixth-grader, 12-year-old Darrius Clark, hit the brakes, and together the two managed to manoeuvre the bus onto a median and put it in park.

McKenzy Finch, a 13-year-old sixth-grader, held Taylor's head.Finch also picked up Taylor's phone, which was ringing, and told the district's transportation team what had happened.

"I'm grateful for my students," said Taylor, who has made a full recovery. "They're the ones that saved my life and everybody else's on that bus."

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