The next time you want to complain about how rude, lazy, and no good America's teenagers are, stop and think about Jeremy Wuitschick. The seventh grader was on his way to his school in Milton, Washington, yesterday morning, reading a book about a superhero saving a bus from destruction. Ironically, he looked up and noticed that something was very wrong with the driver of the school bus carrying him and 15 other students.
He told Good Morning America the driver started "gasping for air and waving his hands frantically in the air," as he lost control of the bus. Eventually, he passed out. That's when Wuitshick found his own inner superhero and took control of the situation.
Video footage from the surveillance camera shows him running to the front of the bus, grabbing the steering wheel, and pulling the bus over to the side of the road. He yanked the keys out of the ignition to get it to come to a stop. Amazingly, none of the students was injured, and it's horrifying to think what would have happened if Jeremy hadn't stepped up like he did.
The bravery and quick thinking he showed are impressive, and we all hope that our children would act similarly in such a situation. However, those aren't things we can teach them in any direct way. We can hope that our example and the messages we send them will help them do the right thing in a situation like this, but sometimes it's just something inside of them that comes out when under pressure. Clearly, Wuitschick had that something.
Making him even more heroic is his humble attitude after all of the attention he's received. He told KOMO:
I knew something was wrong. It was pretty scary. I was just acting on instinct. It was all happening really quickly.
Amazing ... and terrifying. While such a health scare could happen to a driver of any vehicle, there's something about buses that make them ripe for frightening incidents. From bullying to fires and accidents and kids having sex aboard, the things that happen within those big yellow vehicles is the stuff of parental nightmares. My children don't have the option of riding a school bus to their private school, but even if they did, I can't imagine ever letting them doing so.
Has your child ever shown great strength in a time of crisis? Do you let your kids ride the school bus?
Image via ABC
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Comments 8
That's absolutly amazing!! Way to go kid!!
My kids are too young and haven't experienced any opportunity to do something heroic. And no, my kids do not ride a bus. We live too close to school.
Good for that boy!
Awesome! My teen walks to school as its across the street but my younger 2 kids do but for only 3 blocks.
That is so awesome! My older children have rode the bus to school in the past, but now my youngest son is within walking distance of school.
I can't see my daughter doing that! Pretty cool! My kids don't ride the bus any more, but I remember a couple of times as a kid sitting on the side of the road because the bus broke down.