Hero bus driver saves little boy from wandering into traffic
On May 15, Milwaukee bus driver Cecilia Nation-Gardner left her layover two minutes later than usual — and as it turned out, that was a serendipitous twist of fate. As she pulled up to the bus stop at 35th and Vliet Streets, Nation-Gardner spotted something that stopped her in her tracks: a 6-year-old boy walking alone through the busy intersection.
The little boy, who has a disability, had wandered out of his school and was now walking dangerously down the center of the road as cars sped around him. That's when the hero bus driver sprang into action.
"Stay right there! Stop!" Nation-Gardner can be heard screaming as she runs from her bus into the traffic.
She then takes the boy's hand and walks him back into the safety of her bus, saying, "We're going to call the police, OK? So we can get you home."
Milwaukee Country Transit System cameras captured the entire incident, as well as the moment police officers arrive, tying the little boy's shoes before taking him away to reunite with his family. This is the tenth lost or missing child that MCTS drivers have recovered in recent years — a fortunate case of being in the right place at the right time.
"It was meant for me to be there," Nation-Gardner said, referring to the fact that had she stopped at that bus stop at her regular time, she might never have seen the child. "God does everything for a reason."