Warren middle schooler saves busload of children after driver passes out
Dillon Reeves, 13, dreams of being a hockey player or a police officer someday.
For now, he's drawing attention for his bus-driving skills.
On Thursday, the entire school district of Warren Consolidated Schools saluted him by hosting a ceremony for the community to come out and hear the story of how Dillon saved the day.
Dillon, a humble and quiet-spoken seventh grader at Carter Middle School, sprang into action during a bus ride home from school Wednesday afternoon when he saw that the driver had passed out behind the wheel.
His mother, Ireta, and father, Steve Reeves, describe Dillon as a pretty quiet kid with a few friends who likes sports.
In a video provided by Warren Consolidated Schools, the bus driver is talking on the phone, saying she needed to pull over.
As she does, the bus glides slowly and the female driver becomes unconscious.
That’s when Dillon quickly hit the brake and tried to steer the bus to a complete stop. Screams can be heard from other students as Dillon yells to them to call 911.
Superintendent Robert Livernois said the name of the driver and her condition is not being released. She is still hospitalized, he said. The incident happened about 2:59 p.m. Wednesday afternoon in the area of Conner and Haze.
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The driver's age was also not released but it was a fairly new bus driver, who started in July 2022.
There is an ongoing investigation regarding whether the driver was under the influence, but school officials do not believe that to be the case.
Livernois thanked Dillon for his bravery.
"This was an extraordinary act of courage and maturity on his part, " Livernois said. "He jumped up from his seat threw his backpack down, lands in front of the bus, grabbed the steering wheel and brought the bus to a stop in the middle of the road."
Dillon's parents said they don't know how he knew to immediately jump in action but his dad said that he has always been riding along with him and he's a very observant kid. All along on every bus ride, Dillon paid close attention to the driver. That's how he knew how to take control.
"(We) give praise to God, and just raising a good kid," the couple said.
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It was a typical school day for the family, Steve Reeves was preparing dinner and his wife was waiting for Dillon to come home. Once she saw other kids running to the park after being dropped off that's when something clicked something was unusual. She went up to the park and saw the intersection where the incident occurred.
By the time she told her husband or could ask whether Dillon came home yet, the police were already calling them to tell how their son was a hero.
"My first response was, 'what the heck?' " Steve Reeves said.
Then officers assured him that everything was fine.
Dillon's parents requested that he not be interviewed because he is overwhelmed by all the praise he has been receiving.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Warren youth steers school bus to safety after driver passes out
