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Check out what these heroic middle schoolers do after their bus driver passes out behind the wheel as bus travels down road
Craig Hudson/The Washington Post/Getty Images

Check out what these heroic middle schoolers do after their bus driver passes out behind the wheel as bus travels down road

'It was just adrenaline pumping.'

Imagine you're traveling down a road in a bus, and your driver suddenly passes out. What emotions would you and other passengers feel in that moment? Surely it's a terrifying situation.

Now imagine that scenario taking place aboard a bus filled with middle schoolers — and the only adult around is the one who just went limp behind the wheel.

'It started gaining speed. I didn't know it had air brakes, so whenever I clicked the brakes, it about threw me out the windshield.'

Well, that's exactly what happened aboard a Mississippi school bus recently, WLOX-TV reported.

Driver Leah Taylor experienced a medical emergency while operating a Hancock Middle School bus on the afternoon of April 22, and she suddenly passed out, the station said.

The terrifying scene was captured on bus surveillance video.

"She kind of fell over, like flopped over, and everyone started standing up," McKenzy Finch, a sixth grader, told WLOX.

Amazingly, the middle schoolers took fast action and worked together.

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Jackson Casnave, a sixth grader, grabbed the steering wheel, the station said.

"I saw that the bus was veering off to the side. Then I grabbed the wheel," Jackson told WLOX.

"It was just adrenaline pumping," he added.

Darrius Clark, also a sixth grader, hit the brakes as the bus started going faster, the station added.

"So she passed out again, and then the bus started rolling forward. And, I mean, it started gaining speed," Darrius told WLOX. "I didn't know it had air brakes, so whenever I clicked the brakes, it about threw me out the windshield."

Kayleigh Clark, an eighth grader, called 911, the station said, and Destiny Cornelius, also an eighth grader, gave the bus driver her medicine.

“I saw her medication in her hand, and I saw her reaching for it," Destiny noted to WLOX. "I knew that's what she needed."

Video soon shows the bus having finally come to a stop as the students continue to shout instructions and rally around Taylor, their driver.

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Melissa Saucier, principal of Hancock Middle School, told the station that her students handled the emergency correctly.

"I'm not surprised to hear that our kids remained calm and acted swiftly," Saucier added to WLOX. "This emergency situation could have definitely been detrimental. And they handled it exactly how they should have, and we're extremely proud of them."

In fact, the students later were recognized for their actions at a school pep rally, the station said.

As for Taylor, she told WLOX she's back to normal, feeling better, and naturally very grateful and thankful for her young passengers.

"I'm very proud of them," she told the station. "I couldn't ask for any better students than my students on my bus. I love every single one of them."

"I'm gonna think of how they saved my life," she added.

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Dave Urbanski

Dave Urbanski

Sr. Editor, News

Dave Urbanski is a senior editor for Blaze News.
@DaveVUrbanski →