Incredible moment heroic 13-year-old saves bus full of students after driver fell unconscious
Incredible footage caught on a bus in Michigan shows the moment a 13-year-old boy came to the rescue when the driver suddenly fell unconscious.
Dillon Reeves, from Warren, Michigan, was still at least three years away from getting his driver's licence when he found himself in control of Bus No. 46 one day last April, while he was making his way home from school.
Having noticed when he looked out of the window that the bus was 'swerving', Dillon looked at the bus driver and realized her head had dropped forward, with her eyes closed.
"She didn't even have her hands on the steering wheel or the gas pedal," Dillon later told People. "It just didn't seem right."
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Dillon realized the bus was about to go over a curb, so he quickly made his way to the wheel and turned it, preventing the bus from hitting another car at the intersection in the process.
The 13-year-old then gently hit the brakes, bringing the bus and its passengers, including 60 middle school children, to a stop. He then instructed his friends to call 911.
Miraculously, nobody was hurt in the incident but students could be heard screaming in the footage, understandably shaken by what had just happened.
The bus driver was taken to hospital after the incident and later returned home and was 'doing well'.
According to People, the driver reached out to Dillon's stepmother, Ireta Reeves, after the incident to express her thanks to the teenager.
"I'm so thankful Dillon was on the bus that day," she began.
"His swift actions saved lives and property and he deserves all the attention for his bravery. He was asking a few months back about being a bus driver, how old did you have to be and if it was hard," the message continued.
"He thought he might want to be a bus driver one day. It's a great job. I love it. But I hope Dillon can see his potential to be so much more."
Dillon's dad, Steve Reeves, described himself as being 'very, very proud' of the way his son had stepped in.
"This is overwhelming for all of us [...] He is very attentive to his surroundings."
To show their appreciation for Dillon's courage, local officials decorated the family's front garden with a sign that read 'Hero'.
However, the young boy remained modest in the wake of the incident, with Ireta saying: "He's like, 'All I did was stop the bus'."
Emily Brown