School bus drivers are among the unsung heroes of the nation, not only for transporting students to and from school and extracurricular events but also for helping out in times of need and during extreme situations. Over the decades, there have been many such situations, and some of those were truly etched in the memory of the people.
There Have Been Heroic School Bus Drivers Since as Early as the ’40s
Robert Diedrich was a school bus driver in Oxnard, California, who received a handsome medal for heroism during a terrific windstorm. The storm felled power lines and confined the bus together with Diedrich and nine schoolchildren. After calming and quieting the children, Diedrich showed himself as one of the exemplary bus drivers by ignoring his safety and dashing from the bus to lift the power lines.
Driver Bernard Jakubowski also showed an incredible act of heroism when he evacuated 60 children from his bus in Michigan City, Indiana. The event took place after a gasoline tanker collided with a cattle truck and exploded, setting the rear of the bus on fire. Jakubowski wasted no time and ensured that his passengers escaped the fireball in an orderly fashion. According to the press at the time, none of the children were hurt.
School Bus Drivers Often Act in the Moment and Risk Their Own Lives
Back in 1959, driver Charles Barber, who was just 17 years old, managed to save 35 high-schoolers in Lynchburg, Virginia. While Barber was one of the substitute bus drivers, he acted swiftly when his brakes failed on a steep grade. He quickly wrenched the gearshift into low and swerved the bus to the right to come to a stop. The students were going to visit a dance party that evening, and while it is unclear if they made it to the event, they danced beside the road while awaiting another bus to get them.
Robert Thomas was a bus driver in Troy, New York, who probably saved his passengers by shouting a timely get-down warning. This happened just as a logging truck was careening into the bus and some of the logs smashed through the windows. In the aftermath, Thomas noted that the bus now looked like a convertible.
Vanessa Eaton was a school bus driver in Owosso, Michigan who hustled 47 children away from the downtown railroad tracks just before a freight train smashed into their stalled school bus. Following that traumatic experience, one high school student, two middle school students, and four elementary school students decided to go home for the remainder of the day.
George Schierer was a school bus driver in 2000 working in Bellevue, Kentucky. He managed to rescue five students with disabilities after smoke started billowing from the dashboard of the bus. Two were in wheelchairs that were secured to the interior of the bus so Schierer ordered the three ambulatory passengers off and extracted the other two just before an electrical fire broke out. Fortunately, everyone escaped injury.