Brighten Your Day

Kid Saves Classmates Lives When Bus Driver Has Massive Heart Attack While Driving

October 17, 2015

A school bus surveillance camera captured two quick-thinking seventh graders saving the day when their bus driver reportedly had a heart attack while driving in the town of Milton, Washington.

As the video shows, it was a normal bus ride, when suddenly the driver slumps back in his seat and releases the wheel. Jeremy Wuitschick, 13, was a few rows back and noticed something was wrong.

"The bus driver was acting all funny, he's shaking, his arms are flailing, his eyes are bulging and he's making this weird rasping noises with his mouth," Jeremy told KING5. "So I take action. I grab the wheel, turn it right get it to the right side of the road. I take the keys out of the ignition, the engine starts turning off, and (we) start slowing down."

Seventh grader Johnny Wood took action, too. He had studied CPR.

"I ran up and tried doing chest compressions, but his eyes were rolling back and I could tell it was getting harder for him to breathe," Johnny said.

As the bus slowed and stopped, other students called 911.

Jeremy said, "I'm just thinking I just want to stop the bus, because I don't want to crash and I don't want to know what it feels like - I just don't want to die."

Jeremy said he remembered a superhero book he'd read in which a man stopped a runaway bus by turning off the ignition.

Everyone got off the bus alive.

The bus driver, 43 year-old Ryan Callis, was rushed to the hospital. Unfortunately, he did not make it.