A seventh grader in Michigan is being praised for helping to avert a possible crisis after his school bus driver fell asleep at the wheel and the boy brought the bus to a stop.
The student, who has not been publicly identified, sprung into action Wednesday afternoon during his ride home from Carter Middle School in Warren, a city 20 miles north of Detroit, according to a statement from Warren Consolidated Schools Superintendent Robert Livernois.
When the bus driver “became lightheaded and lost consciousness” while driving on Masonic Boulevard near Bunert Road, the student “saw the driver in distress, stepped to the front of the bus and helped bring it to a stop without incident,” Livernois said.
The police and fire departments responded to the scene and treated the driver, and the students were moved onto another bus for the rest of their ride home, according to the superintendent’s statement.
“The actions of the student who helped stop the bus made all the difference today, and I could not be prouder of his efforts,” Livernois said Wednesday.
It was not immediately clear how many kids were on the bus or the driver’s current condition. The superintendent and police commissioner could not immediately be reached Thursday morning.
Officials plan to provide more details about the incident in a news conference on Thursday afternoon, according to someone who answered the phone at the middle school.
This story first appeared on NBCNews.com.