WATCH: Students take control of school bus after driver passes out
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HANCOCK COUNTY, Mississippi — Intense video from a school bus shows a group of middle schoolers springing into action when their driver suddenly lost consciousness behind the wheel.
The footage, released by the Hancock County School District in Mississippi, captures driver Leah Taylor slumping over during an asthma attack as the bus continued moving.
A student sitting in the front quickly noticed something was wrong, grabbed the steering wheel, and tried to steady the bus as Taylor briefly regained consciousness.
Moments later, Taylor collapsed again and fell backward. Several students then rushed to the front of the bus.
One boy stomped on the brakes, bringing the bus to a stop, while a girl administered the medication Taylor had been holding. Others immediately called for help.
“This emergency situation could have definitely been detrimental, and they handled it exactly how they should have,” Hancock Middle School Principal Melissa Saucier told WLOX. “We’re extremely proud of them.”
The quick-thinking students were later honored at a school pep rally. Their names are McKenzy Finch, Jackson Casnave, Darrius Clark, Kayleigh Clark and Destiny Cornelius.
Taylor told WLOX she is recovering and grateful to the students who she says “saved her life.”