Mississippi schoolchildren avert disaster after bus driver passes out behind the wheel

Children in Mississippi sprang into action to stop a packed school bus from crashing after the driver passed out.

One student grabbed the steering wheel and another reached down to apply the brakes, while others called for help and gave first aid.

Bus driver Leah Taylor had 40 children on board and was on a four-lane highway when she felt an asthma attack coming.

She reached for her nebuliser but fell unconscious before she could use it.

Jackson Casnave, 12, said he noticed her head tilting back and the bus starting to swerve, so jumped up and shouted for others to help.

"I saw that the bus was veering off to the side, then I grabbed the wheel," he said. "It was just adrenaline pumping."

As he took the wheel, 12-year-old Darrius Clark applied the brakes and the pair were able to guide the bus to safety.

Darrius's 13-year-old sister Kayleigh ran from the back and called 911. "I was scared, but also I had to help," said the eighth grader.

She said the call handler could hardly hear her as so many children were screaming.

With disaster averted, 15-year-old Destiny Cornelius noticed the driver was holding a nebuliser and administered the medicine while 13-year-old McKenzy Finch held her head.

McKenzy also used the driver's phone to tell transportation authorities what had happened.

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Driver Leah Taylor, after her recovery, said the children's quick thinking on Wednesday prevented a potential disaster.

"I'm grateful for my students. They're the ones that saved my life and everybody else's on that bus," said the 46-year-old.

The principal of Hancock County Middle School, Dr Melissa Saucier, praised her students' quick thinking.

"They didn't wait for somebody to step in, they stepped up themselves, and that says a lot about their character," she said.

The kids were honoured at an assembly on Friday and will next week be treated to a lunchtime trip to a restaurant of their choice.

(c) Sky News 2026: Mississippi schoolchildren avert disaster after bus driver passes out behind the wheel