New Jersey Teenagers Save Bus-Full Of Students After Driver Has Medical Emergency
BRIDGEWATER, N.J. (CBSNewYork) —Three teenagers are being called heroes for saving more than 20 students on a school bus.
The bus went out of control on Route 22 in Bridgewater, New Jersey, after the substitute driver had a medical emergency.
"His eyes were fluttering," Kala Wright, a North Plainfield resident, told CBS2's Christine Sloan. "He started swerving and it was continuous."
Wright, along with Angelo Mel-Tos and Gavin Costello, were on the bus heading to the Somerset County Vocational and Technical High School when the nightmare unfolded.
"I said, 'Sir, you passed the exit' and he said, 'What exit?' I said, 'Like the exit to get to school,'" Wright recalled.
The three students went into action to save themselves and the 24 other kids on the bus.
Wright is part of the school's public safety program after losing her father in a motorcycle accident eight years ago.
Costelle, a boy scout, rushed to the driver.
"He kept trying to calm himself, kept taking his hands off the wheel and putting it on his chest," Costello, a North Plainfield resident, said.
Their plan: to stop the bus at the red light.
"But then he started going again past the red light. That is when I jumped in and pushed the car into park," Costello said. "I opened up the door and he kept closing it. That's when Kala held it open."
"I just told everyone to get out to get out the bus," Mel-Tos, a North Plainfield resident, told CBS2.
Wright's mom heard the commotion because her daughter's phone accidentally dialed her.
"I was terrified," she said.
"I am proud of all of them, I think it's a great story," Janet Costello, another one of the student's mothers, said.
CBS2 was unable to get information on exactly what happened to the driver, but it's needless to say because of the students' heroic efforts, their classmates are okay.