Hot on HuffPost Parents:
Bonnie Fuller: Zach Sobiech: You Were a Huge Inspiration in Your…
When A Tornado Strikes, Should Schools Evacuate?
As Bus Driver Dies, Teen Takes The Wheel And Saves Kids
Filed under: In The News, Amazing Kids, Health & Safety: Big Kids, Health & Safety: Tweens, Health & Safety: Teens
Camp counselor Rachel Guzy's quick thinking saved lives. Credit: New York Post / Splash News
A 16-year-old New York girl is being hailed as a hero after stopping a bus Tuesday with nine children on board when the driver suddenly died.
"I just did what I had to do," said Rachel Guzy, a camp counselor from the Magic Carpet Day Camp in Bayside, Queens, in an interview with the New York Daily News. "Everything went through my mind. I worried about the kids. I worried about the driver. I knew I had to react."
The Daily News reported that Ramon Fernandez, 59, was driving kids -- ranging in age from 7 to 16 -- home around 4:30 p.m., following an afternoon of bowling in Flushing, Queens. He complained about feeling hot and pulled over so Guzy could get him some water.
After getting the water, according to the paper, Fernandez continued driving with the door of the bus open because of the heat. Seized by what authorities say was a heart attack around 4:40 p.m., Fernandez collapsed and rolled out the open door as the bus continued to move toward an intersection.
The paper reported that Guzy, who doesn't even have a learner's permit, jumped into the driver's seat and pulled the emergency brake -- slowing the bus before it crashed into a minivan.
"If not for Rachel, we could have been dead or in the hospital," said 12-year-old camper Artemis Sacremone.
Brett Tawil, the owner of the Magic Carpet Day Camp, called the incident a tragedy, but Guzy a hero.
"You can only hope a counselor acts like she did," he told the Daily News.
Related: Read another amazing story about a quadruple amputee dancer.
http://xml.channel.aol.com/xmlpublisher/fetch.v2.xml?option=expand_relative_urls&dataUrlNodes=uiConfig,feedConfig,entry&id=417283&pid=417282&uts=1250797686
http://cdn.channel.aol.com/cs_feed_v1_6/csfeedwrapper.swf
Amazing Childhood Rescues
Kids survive the darndest things.
Ouij on flickr
Amazing Childhood Rescues
Dog Plays Hide and Seek
When two-year-old Natalie Jasmer fell asleep in a drawer under the family's washing machine during a game of hide-and-seek, it was the family's dog, Copper, who discovered her -- after police and firefighters failed.
sxc.hu
Dog Rescues Abandoned Baby
Stray dogs dig up a newborn that was left for dead. READ MORE
storm_gal on flickr
Teen's Braces Save His Life
His teeth stopped a bullet! READ MORE
fiveforfun on flickr
Cat Saves Family From Fire
Fortunately the family pet could make some noise! READ MORE
Per Ola Weiberg on flickr
Student Twitters His Arrest, Escapes Prison
Deft use of this social networking site kept him out of prison. READ MORE
niallkennedy on flickr
11-Year-Old Treks to Save Father
Kid walks three miles through the outback to get help.READ MORE
swisscan on flickr
Six-Year-Old Keeps Friend From Drowning
The adults didn't notice when one boy sank to the bottom of the pool. READ MORE
%uo42Flick Harris on flickr
Teen Saves Boy From Drowning
A seemingly simple rescue that could've turned out much worse. READ MORE
cursedthing on flickr
Teen Saves Five-Year-Old From Surf
The courageous young man nearly died in the process! READ MORE
john_thurm on flickr
Four-Year-Old Saves Mom
She talked to emergency services for over 7 minutes. READ MORE
Kate Dereault on flickr
Your<span>Voice</span>
Ask Us Anything About Parenting
Recently Asked
TheTalkies:RelatedVideos
-
Kid Icarus: Uprising "Sacred Treasures" Gameplay Trailer
The human race is taking a beating and the only person to save our kind is Kid Icarus. Watch as Kid Icarus collects the scared treasures in this gameplay trailer for Kid Icarus: Uprising.
-
13-Year-Old Credited With Saving Bus Full of Students
13-year-old Jeremy Wuitschick is credited with saving a bus full of kids after the driver passed out behind the wheel.
-
Exclusive Clip: 'Fat Kid Rules the World'
The title almost seems to say it all, doesn't it? Matthew Lillard's directorial debut won the audience award at the 2012 South By Southwest Film Festival, and we have an exclusive clip of Fat Kid Rules the World! Video: Matthew Lillard, Clint Eastwood and Amy Adams Talk 'Trouble' The film stars Jacob Wysocki as Troy Billings, and overweight, suicidal 17-year-old. Just as he's about to jump in front of a bus, he's saved by Marcus (Matt O'Leary), a charming high school dropout/street musician, an
-
Fat Kids Rule the World - Trailer No. 1
Troy Billings is seventeen, overweight, and suicidal. Just as he's about to jump in front of a bus, he's saved by Marcus, a charming high school dropout/street musician.
SitesWeLove
- Site Map
- |
- Staff
- |
- Terms of Service
- |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Trademarks
- |
- Advertise With Us
- |
- About Our Ads
- |
- AOL Downloads
- |
- Contact Us
- |
© Copyright 2012 AOL Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Aol Family
ReaderComments (Page 2 of 4)
8-21-2009 @ 9:22AM
Patricia Oakley said...GOD WORKS IN MASTEROUS WAY'S,
GOD BLESS YOUR SOUL,
Reply
8-21-2009 @ 8:51AM
trans dir said...Great job for the girl. BUT what was the driver thinking driving the bus with the door open and no seat and shoulder belt??? I guess it's a good thing he "rolled out the open door" or she would not have been able to stop the bus.
Reply
8-21-2009 @ 8:52AM
georgewobama said...Alice, I used to live in Baltimore before the animals took it over. It was nice then. Unfortunately, you are right. Baltimore is now a city with nothing but animals running around. Even the Mayor of Baltimore has been indicted for illegal dealings. She is accused of using gift certificates meant for underpriviledged children for herself and her friends. Hate to say it , but you are probably safer in Iraq then you are in Baltimore. The last place which was safe, the Inner Harbor) has had a few shotings recently. It was the only area in Baltimore where tourists could go safely. I would not even trust that area now. It is a real shame.
Reply
8-21-2009 @ 9:05AM
Uly said...This bus was in a city. It was in Queens, in NYC - which, like ALL big cities in the US, has had a steady drop in crime for the past few decades.
Reply
8-21-2009 @ 9:13AM
MandiAltman said...Good for her! Way to save the kids and herself!! It's too bad about the bus driver...I realize this was a camp bus and not a school bus, but this should set presadince. I think it should be manditory for all bus drivers to take a physical or health screening at the beginning of every school year to prevent these kinds of tragedies.
Reply
8-21-2009 @ 12:39PM
busman238 said...Being a former school bus driver in Massachusetts we were required to have yearly physicals when renewing our bus license. They went by your birthday as to the date of when to have it done but every school bus driver was screened and if you were over 70 you had to get it done every 6 months. In reply to another post about air conditioning if this was a regular size bus it is not normal to have AC in them. With the door being opened on a regular route in the city all the time the bus wouldn't stay cool just waste fuel trying to cool it all the time. Also in Massachusetts it is illegal to drive a bus with the door open.
I do say that Rachel is a hero because most people freeze in stressful situations and she didn't she took action and saved their lives. Congratulations to her for being a level headed person.
8-21-2009 @ 9:16AM
otrpu said...What the hell you expect her to do? Sit there and die?
Reply
8-23-2009 @ 9:37AM
Bob said...Frank Calenda, you are a hero.
Reply
8-21-2009 @ 9:42AM
carole said...It is good to know there are still good kid out there. With all the shooting and stabbings you hear about everyday it refreshing to hear a story about someone doing good.
Reply
8-21-2009 @ 11:41AM
Winsyrstrife said...When I first saw her face, before reading the headline, I thought "What's Leah Remini up to?"
Great job, Rachel. It takes courage & self-control to do something like this, in the face of potential death.
Reply
8-21-2009 @ 10:23AM
kay sieverding said...There was a study recently saying that something like 10% of the population will think and act appropriately in an emergency. Rachel is obviously one of the 10% who continues to think even when scared.
Reply
8-21-2009 @ 10:02AM
dancediva200 said...Good for you! God bless you for being such a hero!
Reply
8-21-2009 @ 10:09AM
Trish said...I'm always confused as to why they refer to people who save their own skin as "heroes". Yes, she may have inadvertantly saved some people, but it's not like she jumped on the moving bus from the sidewalk and pulled the brake. She was probably thinking about saving herself more than anything else at the time. Saving the kids was a bonus! I'm not being mean, I'm just being honest. Fireman who run into burning buildings are the true definition of what a hero is.
Reply
8-21-2009 @ 10:30AM
David said...Hey Trish
I wonder if you would have wrote that if your kid was on that bus ???
8-22-2009 @ 12:32PM
ellie31meyers said...What a hero! Not even a learners permant and she saved all those kids!! Wow! Those kids are so lucky
Reply
8-21-2009 @ 10:22AM
jenn453 said...good job rachael! love stories like these
Reply
8-21-2009 @ 10:24AM
jenn453 said...I second that Carol.
Reply
8-21-2009 @ 10:44AM
alphama333 said...I have to agree with someone here. This is a story worth posting and sharing with the world. Sorry the bus driver died. But, that girl's quick thinking saved 'em.
Reply
8-21-2009 @ 11:15AM
Zachary said...All she did was drive a bus, its not that hard.
Reply
8-21-2009 @ 11:20AM
Marisa said...Way to go Rachel! What an incredible, inspirational story to motivate others to think fast in an emergency. My thoughts and prayers are with the bus driver, what a terrible tradgedy.
I have to agree with David. Trish, if your own child was on that bus, I doubt you would be saying that. Im sure you would be thanking the girl for her heroic actions. Every parent of a child on that bus is probably so grateful Rachel was there. Without her, they may have lost a child.
Reply