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."
\u201cA middle school student in Warren is being hailed a hero after he helped stop a school bus when the driver had a medical emergency behind the wheel Wednesday.\n https://t.co/Dr1ITVgCUf\u201d— WXYZ Detroit (@WXYZ Detroit) 1682561705
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.
\u201cWell done, Dillon! \ud83d\udc4f\ud83d\udc4f\ud83d\udc4f\ud83d\udc4f\nHis quick thinking saved the bus driver and kids from tragedy. https://t.co/1iq2HW88we\u201d— FOX 17 (@FOX 17) 1682608505
\u201c@UltraDane What a hero he was. If he didn't act as quickly as he did, that bus would have crashed straight into oncoming traffic, causing serious - or even fatal - injuries to not only everyone on board, but also to the occupants of any cars it would have crashed into.\u201d— Dane (@Dane) 1682661634
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.
\u201c\u2018We\u2019ve got a little hero\u2019 dad says of Warren seventh grader who prevented school bus from crashing https://t.co/P4jawbWuh6\u201d— The Macomb Daily (@The Macomb Daily) 1682644082
\u201c@UltraDane @unsneakycindy It\u2019s people like this young man, that give me hope for the future of humanity \u2665\ufe0f\ud83d\udcaf\u267e\ufe0f\u201d— Dane (@Dane) 1682661634
\u201c@UltraDane Great job!\u201d— Dane (@Dane) 1682661634
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.