A fast-acting school bus driver has been hailed after grabbing a student by the back of his jacket as he was about to step out into the path of a car.
A surveillance video from inside the bus posted on the Norwich City School District's Facebook page shows driver Samantha Call suddenly grabbing a student descending the stairs as a car speeds past on the shoulder.
Watch the video here:
Another student says “that was a good grab" after Call lays on the horn.
The upstate New York district said the video was taken April 26 on a state route about 40 miles north of the Pennsylvania state line.
At the beginning of the 2018-2019 school year, 5 children were killed in 3 days throughout the United States while getting on and off school buses. An additional 7 children were injured during the same period.
School buses feature a number of safety devices such as automatic flashing lights and extending stop signs to notify other drivers, but none of them work when drivers ignore them like the person in the video.
The district says that the bus' red lights were flashing and that Call did an “outstanding" job.
The Norwich City School District Facebook post reads:
"Caught on video: Norwich bus driver stops student as car whizzes by
"TOUCHED BY AN ANGEL
"This is exactly why you should NEVER pass a school bus when the stop arm is out and the red lights are flashing!
"Quick-thinking, fast-acting #Norwich bus driver Samantha Call prevented an almost-certain tragedy from occurring at 10:44 a.m. Friday, April 26, on State Route 12."
"Click the #video to watch the six-year NCSD driver stop a student just short of disaster, grabbing the boy from behind as a car whizzes by the open school bus doors.
"'Samantha did an outstanding job'," NCSD Transportation Supervisor William Loomis said. 'All of our drivers undergo continuous training so they're prepared to handle situations like this. We hope this video helps everyone to realize the dangers of passing a stopped school bus'."
"#IAmNorwich #PurplePride #GoNorwich #HeroBusDriver #SchoolBusSafety2019"
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