Most drivers know to be extra cautious when a school bus stops — which is often. But sometimes people either aren’t paying attention, don’t know the rules, or don’t care about the rules and end up endangering children’s lives.
Thankfully for all parties involved in this particular incident, bus driver April Wise was alert and watching out for her student passengers. If she hadn’t been, this story from New Carlisle, Ohio, would have ended very differently.
The Tecumseh Local Schools Facebook page originally shared the story of Wise’s heroism on Thursday.
“We are feeling very grateful this evening for the alertness and quick actions of one of our amazing bus drivers,” the post read.
“The video shows a car passing on the right as the bus was stopping to drop off a student. We did seek permission from the student’s parent prior to sharing in order to spread bus safety awareness and celebrate the driver’s actions. This is a reminder, please be cognizant of our buses on the road and never pass them.
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“Today our HERO drove a big, yellow school bus! Please share to raise awareness for bus safety.”
The original post has since been viewed over 100,000 times, and it wasn’t long before it made the news.
While the student’s identity was kept private, family members commented on the post to personally express their gratitude.
“This woman is OUR FAMILY HERO tonight as this was my nephew,” Amy Mendenhall wrote. “Thank you for being so aware and protecting these children. We truly appreciate and are grateful for you.”
“God bless her, our grandson, so scary to see, definitely had her eyes out for his safety,” Judy Mendenhall wrote.
“Not enough thanks can be expressed to her for being observant and quickly stopping him. God was watching and praise her for her awesomeness, it is beyond deserved.”
Initially the driver’s name was not shared, but after the story got out, Tecumseh Local Schools shared her name and announced that she would be recognized during an upcoming event.
“State Representative Bernard Willis, Clark County Commissioner Lowell McGlothin, Ohio State Trooper Mark Murray, TLS SRO Deputy John Loney, ODE Pupil Transportation Program Administrator Heather Free, ODE Pre Service Coordinator Evette Moody, TLS Board President Sue Anne Martin, TLS School Board Member Matt Mills, TLS Director of Facilities and Safety Brian Dixon, TLS Treasurer Denise Robinson, TLS Transportation Supervisor Karen Lokai, TLS Transportation Secretary Lisa Heitzman TLS Transportation Department Secretary, TLS Bus Mechanics Steve Lokai and Josh Lutz, and the parents of the student involved in the bus incident last week all gathered at the TLS Transportation Department this morning to honor bus driver April Wise,” Tecumseh Local Schools shared on Monday.
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“Personnel from the Office of Field Services and Transportation in Columbus shared they will use this video for future training purposes because April executed her training superbly.
“Thank you to all who came out today to recognize April this morning! Let’s give one last shout out to our bus driver Miss April who was the Hero of the Day!”
This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.