A quick-thinking school bus driver who saved a 12-year-old student from a near tragedy received special honors for his heroic actions.
Rensselaer County Executive Steven McLaughlin presented Barry Sullivan with a county commendation and a county challenge coin on Wednesday, Feb. 7.
Sheriff’s officials said Sullivan was transporting students from the Brunswick-Brittonkill Central School District home on Tuesday afternoon, Jan. 30, when his bus was nearly struck by a speeding van on Route 7 in Pittstown.
At the time, the bus was stopped on the right shoulder with its red lights and stop sign activated. The cargo van nearly crashed into the bus before losing control, striking an eastbound box truck and going off the roadway.
Moments before the crash, a 12-year-old girl was just about to step off the bus when Sullivan noticed the van approaching and quickly shut the doors, deputies said.