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Many kids wouldn’t know what to do if they were in an emergency situation. Heck, when fear sets in, most adults don’t know what to do either. So when a 14-year-old kept his composure and sprang into action when his bus driver passed out, it made headlines.
It was a bitter cold Wisconsin night that was about to get way chillier for bus driver Natalie Barnes. She spotted a man she'd seen before, but something seemed off with him that night. He boarded the bus and sat quietly by himself. Then, during her break, he approached Barnes while she was alone. That's when he uttered five words that would change their lives forever. How a Bus Driver Changed a Homeless Man’s LifePhoto by Lê MinhAs per PEOPLE, the familiar man's name was Richard and he had awful news to share. "I'm officially homeless now," he said. He said that his home had been condemned and he'd been living on the streets for a week. Hearing that, Barnes offered to buy him a hot meal and warm up on the bus for the rest of her shift. This act alone is enough to fill our cup, but what Barnes did next will overflow it. Not wanting to stop there, Barnes called and not just any friend, but one who got in touch with 'Community Advocates,' who were able to find Richard some shelter. They are working to find him a long-term home. For Barnes, Richard's old age and the cold made her motivation as much about conscience as kindness. “It was important that he found somewhere warm to stay for the night, at minimum,” she said.Little did she know, but things were about to really warm up for her as well.How a Community Honored a Caring Bus DriverPhoto by Caleb ChenTo shine a light on her bus-sized heart, Barnes was honored with the MTS Excellence Award by the Milwaukee County Transit System (MCTS). Created to highlight acts of kindness, MCTS County Executive Chris Abele said the award fit Barnes to a tee. “Natalie demonstrated what we all need to do to fight homelessness: to look out for each other, to care for each other and to work together. I’m deeply grateful for Natalie’s actions,” he said during the ceremony.Barnes said that Richard and she have become friends with a phone route that runs off-hours. "He thanks me every time he talks to me for helping him,” she said adding, "He calls me his little guardian angel. I’m happy to say that he’s progressing well.”How One Bus Driver Proves That Kindness Warms Up LivesRichard had extra real reason to be thankful for Barnes that night. Per WPR, Wisconsin's recent arctic cold waves have caused a spike in cold-related deaths. The most at-risk group? You guessed it, the old and homeless. Thankfully for him, this arctic blast had an angelic overcast. When asked about that night, Barnes said that her motivation is pretty simple, whether in rain, sleet or snow.“At some point in our lives, everybody needs help,” she said. “I wanted to do what I could to help Richard in some way.”Among kindness quotes, one by Aesop reads, "No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted." Sometimes, they give someone the pick-me-up they need to get through the day. Other times, they give someone the wheels to weather a storm.More from Goalcast:Flight Attendant Notices a Passenger Having a Panic Attack – Her Next Move Is Captured by a Fellow PassengerBus Driver Has to Take an Alternate Route Because of Construction – What He Does for A Blind Passenger Is Recorded by a WitnessUber Driver Donates a Kidney to His Passenger – Here’s Why He Insists It’s Not a Coincidence
As parents, it can be hard to let others take care of your children. After all, no one ever really quite loves your kids and watches out for them the exact way you would. Still, we send them to school and trust that those who are tasked with watching them follow the safety rules and regulations in place — from the teachers to the administrative staff to the bus drivers.That’s why parents across America were shocked when they heard about this woman, who yanked a kid onto her bus one afternoon.A Quick-Thinking DriverApril Wise was going about her regular school bus driving routine in Tecumseh, Ohio, one day in February. A video, which was later posted to the district’s social media page, shows Wise slowing down for a stop. She opens the door and checks the mirrors. That’s when she notices something is wrong.There is a car approaching and it isn’t slowing down. A Grade 7 student is about to step off, so Wise grabs the boy’s backpack and pulls him back hard. Suddenly in the frame, you can see an SUV barreling by, right where the boy would have been."The only thing that went through my brain was to keep him from getting off the bus," Wise, who is a first-year bus driver, told WHIO-TV.“If he would have just got off the bus a little quicker or something, everything might have been different,” Karen Lokai, Tecumseh Schools' transportation supervisor, told an NBC news outlet. “It gives you chills to hear it and see the video and see how close, you know, things happen in such a split second.”Saving a Boy’s LifeOnce the way was clear and the boy exited the vehicle, Wise reported the incident to her bosses. They reviewed the video and couldn’t believe just how close the situation was. At home, the boy told his mother how the driver had saved his life.“The mom reached out to us personally to thank us and thank our team for responding to the accident [and] to thank the bus driver,” Superintendent Paula Crew told the publication. “She’s beyond [thankful that] her son got off the bus and came in the house when he did.”She added that cars often pass the school buses, ignoring the clear “stop” sign that applies to vehicles coming from both directions. Failing to stop could not only result in a $500 fine in that area, but worse: a child could get hurt.Clark County Sheriff’s Office Deputy John Loney says the boy was really lucky after this particular failure to stop. “It’s a miracle that he’s safe,” he said.A Local HeroFollowing the incident, Wise was hailed as a hero. People from the school, law enforcement, and parents gathered to say thank you in a special ceremony in which she was given an award.“This goes far beyond what I imagined to happen, so I am very emotional,” Wise told WCSC. “I don’t deserve it, but I’m glad it’s bringing awareness and stuff. Hopefully, more people will take it into consideration,” she added.“For what she did that day, we definitely appreciate it,” the boy’s father added to the publication.Drive ResponsiblyThis story so clearly demonstrates why it is important to follow traffic laws, and it also reminds us all to slow down behind the wheel — particularly in school zones and on neighborhood streets.Accidents take seconds to happen but can change a life forever. If it weren’t for Wise’s quick thinking, that boy could have been seriously injured or worse.When we’re running late or really excited to get home after a long day at work, it can be tempting to speed up, spend a few seconds less at a stop sign, or ignore a school bus’s signal. But it’s important to take a breath and slow down. Being a few minutes late won’t cost you much, if anything. And there are much worse things that can happen in life.More from Goalcast:Heroic Carnival-Goer Saves Lives After Magic Carpet Ride Spins Out Of Control
Traffic and construction are annoyances to the best of us. But imagine you can’t see, and your entire route has been shifted. That was the case for one blind man in Milwaukee, who had a hard time navigating his way around when construction altered his bus route.A Not-So-Routine TripFor 20 years, Gene Hubbard took the same route to and from work every single day, according to CNN. So when construction altered that route, it was suddenly difficult for him to get around. A 28-year-old bus driver named Thaddaus Turner noticed his passenger was having a hard time, so he got out to help him.“The route was barricaded, it was rough for me as a driver, I can only imagine how rough it was for him,” Turner told the publication.A bystander witnessed the kind act and sent it to the Milwaukee County Transit System. They put together a whole post on social media about it, including a video from inside the bus.“Thad Turner didn’t think twice before helping a rider who is blind across the street,” they captioned the post. “But for those who saw it, it was an amazing act of kindness.”Going ViralBefore long, news outlets across the country picked up the story of the kind bus driver helping Hubbard. The attention surprised Turner, who said he never expected anyone to say anything about that day. After all, he was just doing his job.“I was surprised when I saw it in the news,” he told CNN. “I didn’t think I would be here right now over something that is second nature to me and my colleagues.”The "second nature" act meant the world to Hubbard, though.“I just can’t say enough about all the bus drivers,” the 69-year-old said. “If I don’t have a regular locating point to start from, I may as well be in the middle of the ocean.”Small Acts Make a Big Difference This sweet story just goes to show you that doing small but simple things can pack a big punch when those acts are led by kindness. Turner put himself in someone else’s shoes and thought about what he would need in that situation, and his actions were hailed as heroic.It’s a perfect example of an everyday action that is easy enough to execute but helps to make an entire community a better place.In your life, you, too, can perform these small acts. It could be helping someone across the street, holding open a door, or offering to help carry packages to someone’s car or doorstep.The point is to watch for opportunities and to step in whenever help is needed. And above all, lead with kindness. Because once we all do that, the world will certainly be a better place.
What started out as an ordinary bus ride home quickly turned into a terrifying ordeal for 60 kids on board when the school driver became lightheaded and lost consciousness. Thankfully, a quick-thinking and heroic 13-year-old took the wheel and saved the day.What Happened When a School Bus Driver Suffered a Medical Emergency Behind the WheelWarren Consolidated Schools/YouTubeThe driver of the bus, who wishes to remain anonymous, was feeling dizzy and was in the midst of radioing for help when she suddenly lost consciousness.As the bus started to veer into oncoming traffic, Dillon Reeves, a 7th grader at Lois E. Carter Middle School in Warren, Michigan, immediately sprang into action.An onboard video camera captured the frightening incident and the footage was later shared at a press conference. The clip shows the driver contacting dispatch to let them know that she wasn't feeling well and needed to pull over. As she was slowing down, she passed out.Reeves, who was sitting five rows back, "jumped up from his seat, threw his backpack down, ran to the front of the bus, grabbed the steering wheel, and brought the bus to a stop in the middle of the road," the school's superintendent Dr. Robert D. Livernois told reporters.Amazingly, while everyone around him was panicking and screaming, our pint-sized hero with the calm of a zen master, somehow managed to simultaneously steer the bus AND reach his foot over to press the brakes. He then yelled for someone to call 9-1-1."In my 35-plus years of education, this was an extraordinary act of courage and maturity on his part," Livernois said. "The actions of the student who helped stop the bus made all the difference today, and I could not be prouder of his efforts."What Happened After the 7th Grader Stopped the BusOnce the middle schooler got the bus to a complete stop, two witnesses — a guy who happened to be walking down the street and a woman driving behind the bus — stepped in to help.A letter posted to Warren Consolidated Schools' Facebook page, revealed that the police and fire crews arrived quickly on the scene. "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."No injuries to the children on the bus were reported.First responders transported the 40-year-old driver to the hospital. Doctors released her two days later. Livernois stated that the school board hired her in July 2022. She had no previous history of fainting and had passed a mandatory medical exam at the time of hiring.According to a GoFundMe page, the driver is a mother to three young children, aged 8, 7, and 4. Doctors believe she may have suffered a seizure. Under Michigan law, it is illegal for her to operate a vehicle for a minimum of six months. Any money raised will go toward her medical bills, mortgage, and living expenses until she can return to work. So far, $6K of the 20K goal has been raised.The 7th Grader on Being a Hero & Saving the Day Reeves spoke out about his courageous rescue in an interview with Fox2 News. He shared that at the time, he wasn't trying to be a hero, he was just trying to do what was right."I was just thinking just to do the right thing. I just got up and just did what's right."- Dillon ReevesSpoken like a true hero. And while he may not think of himself as a superhero, the rest of the world sure does. The story has gone viral. The family is receiving thousands of messages from people as far away as Berlin, Germany.Reeves also received a mayoral proclamation from the mayor of Warren, Jim Fouts, for his "outstanding leadership skills, alertness and bravery during a crisis." He will also be receiving a commendation from the school board sometime in the near future.Dillon Reeves may only be in the seventh grade, but he is living proof that courage knows no age. And that even in the face of overwhelming adversity, we all have the power to do what's right.
