Many kids wouldn’t know what to do if they were in an emergency situation. Heck, when fear sets in, most adults don’t know what to do either. So when a 14-year-old kept his composure and sprang into action when his bus driver passed out, it made headlines.
An Emergency Situation
Acie Holland III on The Tamron Hall Show
YouTube/The Tamron Hall Show
Acie Holland III was going about his usual end-of-school-day routine in Wisconsin earlier this year when he realized his bus driver was acting funny. From the middle of the bus, he noticed she looked sick or tired, and her head was drooping.
“She turned the corner, and there’s another street that we usually turn on. She pressed the gas and went past the corner, and I looked up,” Holland told CNN.
When the driver’s head dropped again, Holland knew he had to take action. He ran up to the front of the bus to check on her, but she didn’t respond. She was unconscious, and the bus was veering.
Without thinking, Holland took the driver’s foot off the gas, straightened the bus, eased it to the curb, and put on the brakes. Although he had never driven a car before, his father is a certified auto technician, and he grew up around vehicles.
“I wasn’t really scared; I was just trying to get the bus to stop,” Holland added.
Taking The Next Steps
After the bus was safely parked, Holland continued taking action. In an interview with Tamron Hall, he explained how he got all the kids off the bus, told them to call their parents, and had someone dial 9-1-1. He then ran home to get his grandmother, who is a nurse.
“I just wanted to make sure that everyone was ok,” he explained.
Eventually, the driver regained consciousness and was able to call the bus company to arrange for another driver to take the kids home.
That night at his own home, Holland’s dad didn’t quite believe his son when he revealed what had happened. But then his own mom confirmed the story, and it began making headlines.
“He’s always been a person where he’s real quick on his feet. That’s one of my things that I know he’s capable of, not on the school bus, but just in general, being able to help someone in need,” the dad told CNN. “But I am proud of what he did.”
A Local Hero
On The Tamron Hall Show, Holland admitted he’s kind of the school hero now, and that people have thanked him for his quick-thinking.
“The community could not be prouder of Acie,” wrote the school principal, Anna Young, in an email to parents.
“The compassion and leadership that we see him exhibit daily was taken to the next level on his bus ride home yesterday. We are grateful that all of our Glen Hills students are safe and are wishing their driver a healthy recovery.”
Others were so inspired by Holland’s actions that they commended him as a hero. On The Tamron Hall Show, Disney revealed it is sending the teen and his entire family on a trip to Disney World because they felt so inspired by his actions.
“You are blessed,” Hall said, noting the words on Holland’s shirt during the interview. “We are so inspired by your courage… you are such a hero.”
Be An Everyday Hero
Holland’s story is inspiring because it reminds us that anyone can be a hero. When you’re faced with any kind of challenge in life, taking some deep breaths, staying calm, and doing what you can to help or fix a situation makes all the difference. In this case, it helped save a group of middle school students from a potentially tragic bus accident.
This story also reminds us that it’s never too early to start teaching kids basic safety and how to react in an emergency situation. Talk with kids, solicit their feedback and thoughts, and teach them how to manage their fear and lead with action if they’re ever in a situation where they’ll need courage.
Hopefully, they’ll never need to use that knowledge, but you also never know when their preparedness can save the day.
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