Sixty-six Michigan school students are all safe thanks to one quick-thinking 13-year-old who steered the school bus to safety after the driver lost consciousness, officials said.
Dillon Reeves of Carter Middle School in Warren leapt to the front from his seat about five rows back before taking control of the wheel.
A video shows the bus driver messaging officials that she is not feeling well.
The town is hailing the schoolboy as a hero.
“We are very proud of you for your heroic actions!” Warren Councilman Jonathan Lafferty wrote in a Facebook post.
Students were returning home from Carter Middle school on Wednesday when the bus driver “became lightheaded and lost consciousness”, according to the school’s superintendent Robert Livernois.
Video of the incident, released on Thursday, shows the bus driver radio messaging officials that she is not feeling well and might need to pull over.
Shortly after, the driver loses grip of the steering wheel, falling limp, and students are heard screaming as the bus starts to veer from its lane.
Mr Livernois said Dillon saw the “driver in distress” and “stepped to the front of the bus and helped bring it to a stop”.
After stopping the bus. Dillon shouts out for someone to call the emergency line 911 “now”.
The cause of the bus driver’s illness is not yet known. She does not have a history of any other incident while driving.
When police called Dillon’s parents, his father, Steve Reeves, first asked “what the heck did he do?”
Officers said, “no, your son is a hero”, according to local media.
A councilman for the town, about 30 minutes north of Detroit, praised Dillon for “bringing the bus to a stop and avoiding what could have been a very tragic accident”.
After the incident, his proud stepmother, Ireta Reeves, wrote on Facebook: “He is home and everyone is okay all thanks to Dillon!!!”
“To Dillon, it’s just another day,” she continued to say, “He has no idea the amount of people who are so proud of him today.”
