Passenger's Quick Actions Prevent Megabus Disaster
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) - A passenger's quick actions helped prevent disaster from happening after a Megabus driver became incapacitated behind the wheel.
It was supposed to be a routine Megabus trip from Philadelphia to Pittsburgh, but it turned out to be a tale highway of heroics involving a pastor turned truck driver, a medical professional and two mystery truck drivers.
"We're [going to] get in Pittsburgh early. It's our lucky day," passenger Stefon Braxton said.
That's what Megabus passengers thought leaving Philadelphia on Monday.
"I was on the top part and all I felt was the bus kept swerving. We just kept going from lane to lane," Braxton said.
What Braxton did not know was that the bus driver had passed out behind the wheel.
"When she passed out, she still had her foot on the gas. We were [steadily] accelerating. When it first started, we were doing maybe 50 and when they pulled up on us, we were doing about 70," Braxton said.
That's when two 18-wheelers appeared on the Turnpike west of Bedford and performed a moving miracle to save 50 lives.
"We didn't know what was going on until we noticed these two tractor-trailers. He pulled up on the left. and I guess he radioed his buddy and his buddy came up on the shoulder of us and they boxed us in to keep us from swaying," Braxton said. "They were right on time and they moved at the same time. It was like synchronized truck driving,"
The bus was still moving, but there was a pastor on board who could drive a bus.
"They boxed us in and then, one of the passengers had his [commercial driver's license] and what he did, he jumped on the driver's lap and steered us. The other truck got out of the way so we could get onto the shoulder of the highway," passenger Stefor Braxton said.
Within minutes, the tragedy was averted and the bus was brought to a stop in Bedford. The heroic truck drivers did not stop and just kept going on their route.
"Once they [saw] the pastor and once they [saw] he had control and was pulling off to the side, the one on the right, he pulled up first and blew his horn and the other one blew his horn and they just kept on going," Braxton said,
The driver turned out to be okay and the pastor and truck drivers' identities remain a mystery.
"When we got off that bus in Bedford, we were just so happy we were all alive," Braxton said.
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