A boy took the wheel of a school bus and applied the emergency brakes to bring the vehicle to a stop on the side of a busy road Wednesday in Detroit, Michigan after the driver passed out, local authorities said.
"Somebody call 911 now!" yelled Dillon Reeves, a seventh grader, on the bus carrying dozens of high school kids from the Warren Consolidated School District.
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Dillon, 13, stopped the bus as it headed toward other cars and was praised for his heroism: "In my 35+ years as an educator, this was an extraordinary act of courage and maturity on his part," said the superintendent Scholar, Robert Livernois.
The incident was recorded by a camera above the driver's seat.
The video shows the driver fanning herself with a baseball cap as she informs the transportation office that she needs to stop because she feels "so dizzy."
Seconds later, Dillon springs into action, hitting the brake pedal and grabbing the steering wheel.
“I don't think it could have turned out better,” Livernois said, noting that adults later helped the children off the bus through the back door.
“When you have someone like Dillon take over the bus, it really was a good day for us,” the superintendent added.
Dillon declined to speak to the media on Thursday, but his parents, Steve and Ireta Reeves, said they were very proud of him.
“We have a little hero,” said Dillon's dad, “He's been sitting on my lap as we've been driving down country roads since he was 4 years old.
He is a good driver ”.