Man Jumps Onto Moving School Bus to Save 18 Children

October 23, 2026

Ebro Ahmed was going about his day when he noticed something terribly wrong: a school bus was rolling down the street with its doors open and its driver experiencing a medical emergency.

He rushed aboard and took action that helped save 18 children.

Ebro Ahmed / KSTP 5 Eyewitness News

The frightening incident happened Monday afternoon in the Dayton’s Bluff neighborhood of St. Paul, Minnesota, as students were heading home from school.

Ahmed was outside a convenience store when he spotted the bus moving past him. Through the open doors, he could see that the driver was in distress.

“I saw a bus roll past me with the doors open, and I saw the bus driver seizing up,” Ahmed told KSTP.

Realizing the children were in danger, Ahmed ran toward the moving bus and climbed aboard. He had no medical training, but he knew he needed to stop the vehicle before the situation became even more dangerous.

“I tried to put it in park, I threw it in reverse by accident, and then I ended up getting it in neutral, pulled the parking brake,” he recalled.

Once the bus was stopped, Ahmed called the police and an ambulance to get the driver the medical attention they needed.

When emergency responders arrived, Ahmed counted 18 children aboard the bus. Thankfully, none of the students were injured, and the driver was expected to recover.

In a Wednesday update, St. Paul Public Schools confirmed that the driver had been released from the hospital and was resting at home. Another bus transported the students the rest of the way home, and the school's mental health team checked in with them following the frightening experience.

As for Ahmed, he was quick to downplay any talk of being a hero. He even credited the medical drama Grey's Anatomy for giving him some inspiration, rather than any formal medical experience.

What mattered most to him was that everyone made it through safely.

“At the end of the day, youth are the most innocent humans on Earth, so anything you can do to save them, help them, it’s worth it,” Ahmed said.

He also expressed gratitude that the emergency happened on a neighborhood street rather than a highway or a busy road, where the consequences could have been far worse.

For Ahmed, helping those children was simply the right thing to do. And his words offer a powerful reminder of what can happen when someone chooses to act instead of standing by.

“Saving lives is very, you know, something God will never forget; God will definitely reward you heavily for it,” he said.

Eighteen children made it home safely, their bus driver was recovering, and one man's split-second decision helped prevent a frightening situation from becoming a tragedy.

Watch the moment below: