Student praised for saving bus after driver dies

Student praised for saving bus after driver dies

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Parents are praising a Philadelphia teen for steering a school bus to safety after its driver died of an apparent heart attack.

Witnesses and bus company officials say Graceanne Rumer grabbed the wheel Tuesday afternoon when the driver taking students home from Calvary Christian Academy suddenly collapsed out of his seat.

The 17-year-old senior grabbed the wheel and made a U-turn to slow the bus down because the brake pedal was blocked. WCAU-TV reports about three dozen students were on board at the time.

Rumer had only started driving a few weeks earlier. She says she was just the closest student to the front of the bus with driving experience.