Mississippi middle school students stop bus from crashing after driver blacks out

Quick-thinking middle school students in Mississippi prevented their school bus from crashing after their drivers passed out on a four-lane highway.

The bus had just left Hancock Middle School in Hancock County on Wednesday with about 40 children on board when 46-year-old Leah Taylor suffered an asthma attack. He reached for his medication but fainted before he could take it.

The students sprung into action within seconds.

Jackson Casnave, a 12-year-old sixth-grader who was sitting directly behind the driver, noticed the bus starting to swerve. Casnave jumped up to turn the steering wheel and told the others to call for help.

“I didn’t have time to process my emotions,” Casnave said. “I wanted to make sure no one got hurt.”

Another sixth-grader, 12-year-old Darrius Clark, hit the brakes and together they managed to maneuver the bus across the median and park it.

Clark’s 13-year-old sister, Kayleigh, ran from the back of the bus to the front and called 911. He later said he could barely hear the emergency operator because of so many students screaming.

“I was scared, but I also had to help,” said eighth-grader Kayleigh Clark.

Eighth-grader Destiny Cornelius, 15, also ran to help and noticed Taylor had a nebulizer in her hand. McKenzy Finch, a 13-year-old sixth-grader, held Taylor’s head as Cornelius administered the medication.

Finch also picked up Taylor’s ringing phone and told the district’s transportation team what happened.

“I’m grateful to my students,” said Taylor, who has fully recovered. “They saved my life and everyone on that bus.”

The students were honored at a pep rally on Friday and will be invited to a lunch cruise at a restaurant of their choice next week.

Director Dr. “What they did was a courageous thing,” Melissa Saucier said. “They didn’t wait for someone to step in, they put themselves forward and that says a lot about their character.”