AFFTON, Mo. — Three eighth-grade students are being hailed as heroes after they managed to safely stop their school bus after the driver suffered a medical emergency, according to KTVI.
Vernon Brown, Emilio Stewart, and Alex Fischer all attend Rogers Middle School in Missouri -- and they are being credited with saving several lives.
“I feel amazing. I never expected this to happen. I'm just glad things went well, because they could have escalated,” Stewart said.
Alex Fischer was waiting to get off the bus when he noticed the driver was incoherent and the bus was still moving. He quickly asked his friends for help.
“Yeah, it was really scary. I hit the brakes as fast as I could to stop bus. It was crazy. Bus driver was shaking,” French said.
Stewart and Brown quickly called 911 and helped Alex slow the bus. The door would not open, but a man nearby jumped through a window and put the bus into park before it hit anything.
"I feel like a hero. I'm just glad I get to help somebody. Like this is crazy. I didn't know we would get so much stuff. I'm actually proud of myself,” Brown said.
The boys were showered with resolutions, proclamations, and gifts by Missouri state representatives, St. Louis County police, Affton firefighters, the St. Louis County Council, County Executive Steve Stenger, and Missouri Central Bus.
"It's a happy day for me. I'm glad my family came out,” Fischer said.
Missouri Central Bus gave each of the boys a $200 gift certificate. The boys also received $500 savings bonds.
