A heroic school bus driver in Akron, Ohio, “sacrificed her life” to save a 10-year-old girl, throwing her out of the way of a rolling bus on Tuesday. Sadly, the driver was unable to save herself and was killed.
Akron police Lt. Rick Edwards confirmed that the driver “sacrificed her own life to save the life of this 10-year-old girl," according to the Associated Press.
Emergency personnel work the the scene were a school bus from Nancy's Bus Service hit a tree while transporting students in Houston, Texas, Tuesday, Aug. 26, 2014. About 20 victims including the bus driver were being transported to nearby hospitals for minor injuries. (AP Photo/The Courier, Alan Warren)
The AP has more on the tragic situation:
Edwards said the bus pulled up beside Middlebury Academy in Akron when the driver asked the students to perform routine evacuation drills. The students, about 40 ranging from kindergartners to eighth-graders, first exited the bus at the front and lined up single file on the sidewalk as instructed. They then got back on the bus and exited the rear emergency exit, Edwards said.The 10-year-old girl, the last to exit, was climbing out the back of the bus when the vehicle started rolling backward, Edwards said. The driver threw the girl onto a lawn then the bus rolled over the driver.
"I don't think she had time to react," Edwards said.
As students stood nearby, the bus came to a stop after running into a tree.
The Ohio State Highway Patrol will reportedly investigate the incident and attempt to find out what caused the bus to roll backward.
The deceased driver had not identified as of Tuesday afternoon. She was transported to a hospital and pronounced dead about two hours after the incident.
The Akron school district is sending grief counselors to Middlebury Academy to help students who witnessed the accident.
