8-Year-Old Girl And Her 14-Year-Old Brother Save Bus Driver

December 31, 2025

A brother and sister in Ohio are being praised for their quick thinking after helping a school bus driver during a medical emergency — and their calm response may have made all the difference.

Catrina notices something is wrong / Crestview Local Schools

Video shared by Crestview Local Schools in Ashland, Ohio shows 14-year-old Charlie and his 8-year-old sister Catrina springing into action when they noticed something was wrong with their bus driver last week.

Catrina, a third-grader sitting near the front of the bus, was the first to realize the driver wasn’t well. She asked if the driver was okay, and when the driver shook her head no, Catrina immediately went to alert other students — including her older brother.

Charlie, a seventh-grader, quickly took charge. In the video, he can be seen moving to the front of the bus and using the radio to call the school for help.

“When I realized that something was going on, I went up there and grabbed the radio and then called the school because I knew that was the quickest way to get help,” Charlie told ABC affiliate WEWS.

Crestview Local Schools Superintendent Jim Grubbs later shared that another student also stepped up. An eighth-grader named Kali helped by instructing students to move to the back of the bus and calling 911.

The bus driver was taken to the hospital, and a backup driver arrived to finish transporting students to school. According to WEWS, the driver was later discharged and said she had made it a point to teach students how to use the bus radio — and was grateful they remembered.

Catrina told WEWS she feels "proud and happy with myself and happy that we got [the driver] all better now."

Superintendent Grubbs praised the students’ actions, calling them “truly outstanding.”

“They remained calm, communicated clearly, and helped one another in a situation that could have been much worse,” he said. “Their families should be incredibly proud.”