Acie Holland III, a 14-year-old at Glen Hills Middle School in Milwaukee, was riding his bus home from school when he noticed the bus driver's head slump onto the steering wheel.
He then saw that the bus was veering into oncoming traffic, so he immediately jumped into action to bring the bus safely to a stop.
The 8th grader described the situation as a "fight or flight moment," telling WBAL News,
I grabbed the steering wheel, then I get us to the curb, and I hit the brakes close, and then when we hit the curb, I turned the wheel all the way because I didn't know where the parking brake was.
Acie was familiar with how to handle the bus from his experience watching and helping his dad, Acie Holland Jr., work as a mechanic.
Acie's dad said of his son's heroism,
He was just like, 'I saved people's lives today,' and he was so excited, and he seemed like he wasn't nervous at all. He just kind of just went with the flow, whatever it was. So that's what made it unbelievable for me, 'cause he was just so calm.
There were 20 other students on the bus at the time that the driver experienced a medical emergency that caused her to pass out. Another student called 911 while Acie was stopping the bus, and medics were able to quickly respond to the situation and the driver is now recovering.
The 14-year-old said of the experience,
Made me feel good that I know that I saved people - and I know I feel more confident now and brave.
The best.
Watch the local news report:
P.S. Now check out our latest video 👇
