The story about the mom who went nuts on her daughter’s school bus driver failed to reassure me that letting my kid ride in a vehicle full of strangers was a stellar decision.
Fortunately, I found solace in another bus blurb about a quick-thinking 16-year-old girl, who saved her fellow riders after the bus driver dropped dead while on duty. Rachel Guzy is being called a “super teen” for saving dozens of lives.
According to reports, the New York high school student was riding on a bus along with other kids from a local day camp when the driver lost consciousness while stopped at a red light. The driver then collapsed out of the bus’ door he was keeping open in order to get additional ventilation into the un-air conditioned vehicle. When the driver fell out of the bus Guzy jumped out of her seat and reached for the emergency brake. The bus then slowly rolled into a minivan filled with kids in the intersection. Fortunately, no one involved in the accident sustained serious injuries.
Local law enforcement personnel said the situation could have ended up a lot worse and hailed Guzy as a hero.
Guzy, who doesn’t have a driver’s license, told news reporters that she is not special. Rather, she says she just did what anyone else would have done in the same scenario.
“I just did what I had to do,” Guzy told reporters. “Everything went through my mind. I worried about the kids. I worried about the driver. I knew I had to react.”
According to the teen, prior to collapsing, the bus driver had been complaining about feeling hot, which is why he was driving with the vehicle’s door open. Guzy says the driver was talking with her when he suddenly collapsed as the bus approached a busy intersection.
“Out of nowhere, there was a car coming and he just kept driving,” said Guzy. “He was slouched over. I thought he was picking something up, but then, next thing is, he rolls off the bus.”
Guzy says several of the kids on the bus started screaming, but she remained focused and pulled the bus’ emergency brake.
“I was a nervous wreck. I was shaking and I was crying. I couldn’t breathe. It was the scariest thing I’ve ever had to do in my life.”
Guzy, a high school junior from Long Island, says she is down playing her hero status as she heads back to class this fall.
A humble hero. Hmmm… wonder if Guzy would consider riding the bus with my daughter?
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