A middle school student from Michigan saved the day by stopping his school bus after he saw the driver suddenly pass out at the wheel.
Things could've ended badly, but thanks to his quick thinking, Dillon Reeves was able to stop the moving bus with an unconscious driver at the helm and save all the students on board–as well as any cars and homes that might have been in the path of the runaway bus.
Reeves–who is a 7th-grade student at Lois E. Carter Middle School in Warren, Michigan—said he knew how to stop the bus because he saw the bus driver do it every day.
The school's Superintendent, Robert D. Livernois, issued a statement about Wednesday's incident, explaining what happened.
"One of our bus drivers became lightheaded and lost consciousness while the bus was traveling on Masonic Boulevard near Bunert Road."
"A quick-thinking 7th-grade male student saw the driver in distress, stepped to the front of the bus and helped bring it to a stop without incident."
Released surveillance footage from the bus showed the driver drifting in and out of consciousness and following safety protocol by contacting “home base” and alerting the transportation department she was getting dizzy and not feeling well.
She informs them she was going to pull over so she could get assistance. However, before she was able to do so, she passed out as the students on board could be heard screaming.
Reeves then came into view, safely brought the bus to a stop, and yelled to his peers:
"Someone call 911 now!"
You can view the footage here.
Warren Consolidated Schools Bus 4 26 23youtu.be
Livernois added in his statement:
"The Warren Police and Fire Departments responded very quickly, tended to the driver, and the students were safely loaded onto a different bus to make their way home."
At Thursday's press conference, Livernois said he was impressed by Reeves having the "wherewithal" to slowly apply the brake instead of slamming on it to bring the bus loaded with 66 kids to a gentle and complete stop.
Reeves' father, Steve Reeves, noted how his son not having a cell phone may have played a role in his heroism since it allowed him to be observant of the distressing situation at hand.
Ireta Reeves, his stepmother, was beaming over his heroic act.
"Dillon has been a great guy this year," she said.
"To do something like this fills my heart… makes my heart skip a beat. I'm extremely proud of him."
She expressed how proud she was on Facebook, writing:
"Dillon jumped into action and stopped the bus and Saved all the kids, a car and house it could have hit in its path!!"
"He is the Local HERO!! His principal arrived to the scene as well as Warren Police and Fire dept. Everyone is so proud of him!!"
"He is home and everyone is okay all thanks to Dillon!!!
On the way home from school today Dillons bus driver passed out at the wheel and Dillon jumped into action and stopped the bus and Saved all the kids, a car and house it could have hit in its path!! He is the Local HERO!!
His principal arrived to the scene as well as Warren Police and Fire dept. Everyone is so proud of him!!
According to Warren Fire Commissioner Skip McAdams, the unnamed 40-year-old female bus driver was taken to a hospital.
Her condition was reported as "stable but with precautions."
McAdams told CNN she was able to communicate with first responders during her evaluation, treatment, and transport. She had no physical injuries but "suffered a medical emergency owing to a loss of consciousness."
Thanks to Reeves springing to action that day, nobody was injured.
