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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.
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ReaderComments (Page 4 of 4)
8-21-2009 @ 1:52PM
Tori said...that girl is 1 true hero...i think i would have panicked i hate 2 say...great job Rachel~claps~too bad for the bus driver and his friends n family..my prayers are with you
Reply
8-21-2009 @ 2:09PM
Jena said...I was a school bus driver for 7 years, First of all it is illegal to drive a bus with the door open and the driver must wear a seat belt at all times while driving so I am a bit perplexed by this story!!! the bus driver put many people at risk. They should have stopped the bus, called base and had someone come take the kids off of the bus and onto another bus while the driver sought medical attention. i am sorry for the passing of the driver and I am proud of the student that knew what to do. Its evident she listened and paid attention when the emergency procedures were explained.!!
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8-21-2009 @ 2:39PM
Vickie said...I was a school bus driver for 7 years. I have never seen a school bus with air conditioning. When the heat gets so hot it's unbearable you have a little tiny fan that blows hot air into your face, that's all you get. It's hot just after school starts and just before school is over, thank God for fall weather. Then the winter comes and it gets very, very cold. I am so glad she was thinking, and feel very sorry for a fellow school bus driver.
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8-21-2009 @ 3:57PM
trustme said...I'm amazed, police now-a-days being what they are, that the driver was not cited for driving without a license and the courts, now-a-days being what they are, did not fine her $250.00.
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