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Students’ Quick Thinking Prevents School Bus Accident in Mississippi
Hancock County, MS – A group of middle school students displayed remarkable courage and presence of mind this week when their school bus driver suffered a medical emergency on a busy highway.
On Wednesday, shortly after departing Hancock Middle School with around 40 children aboard, driver Leah Taylor, 46, experienced a severe asthma attack. Though she reached for her medication, she lost consciousness before she could use it, leaving the bus momentarily uncontrolled on a four-lane highway.
In those critical seconds, sixth grader Jackson Casnave, 12, who was seated directly behind the driver, noticed the bus beginning to swerve. Without hesitation, Jackson took the wheel and instructed other students to call for help.
“I didn’t have time to process my emotions,” Jackson recalled. “I just wanted to make sure that nobody got hurt.”
Working alongside him, 12-year-old Darrius Clark applied the brakes. Together, they successfully steered the bus onto the median and brought it to a stop. Darrius’s sister, eighth grader Kayleigh Clark, 13, ran to the front to call 911 despite the chaos and noise from frightened students.
“I was scared, but also I had to help,” Kayleigh said.
Additional students quickly sprang into action. Eighth grader Destiny Cornelius, 15, administered medication to Taylor using a nebulizer, while sixth grader McKenzy Finch, 13, supported Taylor’s head and managed the driver’s ringing phone, communicating the emergency to the school district’s transportation team.
Taylor has since made a full recovery and praised the students for their lifesaving efforts. “They’re the ones that saved my life and everybody else’s on that bus,” she said gratefully.
In recognition of their bravery, the students were honored at a school pep rally on Friday and will enjoy a celebratory lunch at a restaurant of their choice next week.
Principal Dr. Melissa Saucier commended their actions, stating, “What they did took courage. They didn’t wait for somebody to step in; they stepped up themselves, and that says a lot about their character.”