Eighth grader saves bus from veering into traffic
The Glendale-River Hills School District is spotlighting a heroic middle schooler who helped stop a school bus from veering into oncoming traffic after the driver lost consciousness.
Acie Holland III, an eighth grader at Glen Hills Middle School, said his mother’s mantra to always be aware of his surroundings came in handy Wednesday evening, when the driver of school bus route 207 had a medical emergency resulting in her temporarily losing consciousness.
Holland told the Journal Sentinel that he started to sense something might be wrong when the driver quickly passed by his stop on the route. For a split-second, he thought she was just joking around. But when he saw the bus start to veer toward the wrong side of the road, he quickly sprang into action.
Just as the bus approached oncoming traffic, Holland rushed over, moved the driver’s foot off the gas pedal, applied the brake and securely parked the bus, according to a statement from Glen Hills Principal Anna Young sent to parents and shared on Facebook Thursday.
Holland then called 911 and ensured younger students were OK and instructed them to call their parents. Holland also contacted his grandmother, who is a nurse.
Eventually, the bus driver regained consciousness and called Riteway dispatch. Young said the bus driver received medical care but did not have updates on her current status. The bus company had sent a safety team to the scene and assigned an alternate driver to finish the route.
Holland said many of the students on his bus were stunned. Just before it all, they’d been having fun on the bus, joking around.
Since the close call, Holland said many of his family members and friends have reached out to express their pride.
But many of his close friends at school are keeping him humble, making light of the situation with jokes, saying news organizations are “doing too much” in covering the incident.
Holland, who wrestles for Glenn Hills Middle School and has experience with martial arts, said his experience working on cars also likely helped him react quickly.
Meanwhile, the school district is taking great pride in its student’s actions.
“The Glen Hills school community could not be any prouder of Acie,” Young said. “The compassion and leadership that we see him exhibit daily was taken to the next level on his bus ride home yesterday. We are grateful that all of our Glen Hills students are safe and are wishing their driver a healthy recovery.”