Hero Bus Driver Stops Kid from Stepping in Front of a Speeding Car in New York
A New York bus driver is being recognized for her quick actions to save a student who was moments away from stepping off her bus and into the path of an oncoming car.
On Tuesday, the Norwich City School District posted security video to Facebook from bus driver Samantha Call’s morning route on April 26. In the footage, Call is seen grabbing the hood of a young boy’s sweater just as a car speeds by as he prepared to exit the bus.
“That was a good grab!” a female passenger says after the student safely runs off the bus after the car has passed.
The video of Call’s heroic grab quickly went viral, garnering more than 421,000 views and hundreds of shares and comments on Facebook.
“This is exactly why you should NEVER pass a school bus when the stop arm is out and the red lights are flashing,” the caption of district’s video reads. “[Call stopped] a student just short of disaster, grabbing the boy from behind as a car whizzes by the open school bus doors.”
“It’s NEVER OK to pass a school bus when the stop arm is out and the red lights are flashing!” they wrote in a comment.
NCSD Transportation Supervisor William Loomis said Call was “outstanding” in implementing her safety training to save the boy from great harm.
“All of our drivers undergo continuous training so they’re prepared to handle situations like this,” Loomis continued in the post. “We hope this video helps everyone to realize the dangers of passing a stopped school bus.”
According to New York Upstate, Loomis spoke with Call after seeing the footage, telling her the boy was able to go home that day “because of you.”
Loomis said he also showed the heart-stopping footage to the student’s parents.
RELATED: Milwaukee Bus Driver Rescues Lost Baby Girl from Freeway Overpass: She ‘Was So Scared and Cried’
“They were very emotional,” he told the outlet. “It was very alarming for them to see how close this was to being a tragedy. And they were very thankful for the bus driver.”
The incident was reported to the Chenango County Sheriff’s Office, Loomis said, but they have not yet been able to locate the driver.
Call’s save comes just months after a bus driver from Milwaukee came to the rescue of a baby girl who was spotted wandering on a freeway overpass by herself in nothing but a onesie and a diaper.
