"I just realized that there's no one driving this bus, I need to do something," Graceann Rumer, 17, told NBC Philadelphia. teen bus fatal heart attack,
Rumer just started driving about two weeks ago and lately had been driving herself to Calvary Christian Academy for practice, the station reported. teen bus driver heart attack,
Luckily for her schoolmates, she decided to take the bus on Tuesday.
Witnesses and school bus officials said that about three dozen teens were on their way home through northeast Philadelphia at around 3:30 p.m. when driver Charles Duncan, 51, suddenly lost consciousness and slid beneath the wheel.
Rumer quickly grabbed the wheel and yanked the moving bus out of the way of oncoming traffic, NBC reported. Teen Bus Fatal Heart Attack,
Though she couldn't reach the brake pedal — Duncan was blocking it — she managed to pull the bus to the side of the road and safely stop it.
None of the students were injured. teen friend speeding van,
Duncan, however, died later at a hospital.
Students and teachers called Rumer a hero.
"We had three of our children on the bus along with dozens of other kids and the outcome could have been much different," parent Renee Lawsin told the station. "She did something very heroic."
Rumer credited her new driving skills — and a little luck.
"I've been doing driver's ed, so that worked out well," she said.
"It was just amazing that we didn't get hit or anything."
Calvary Christian Academy teachers told NBC that counselors would be available for any students upset by the incident.
Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/philadelphia-teen-steers-school-bus-safety-driver-suffers-heart-attack-report-article-1.1012210#ixzz1kfBlVH00
