Minnesota student uses school bus radio to get help for driver suffering from medical condition
An elementary school student used a school bus radio to get help for a driver suffering from a medical condition while on their route home from school in central Minnesota, according to officials.
According to the Crow Wing County Sheriff's Office, the incident occurred shortly after 3 p.m. on Tuesday after the bus departed from Riverside Elementary school in Brainerd, Minnesota, though no specific location was given.
Officials are still investigating what led up to the incident but what we know so far is that a fourth grader noticed something was wrong with their bus driver while on their way to a transfer spot after leaving school.
Students noticed the driver was not following the route to the drop-off location, which is when one of the 30 kids on board used the vehicle's radio to request emergency assistance, the sheriff's office said.
Officials say the driver stopped to bus and another fourth grader — along with the student who radioed for help — helped the rest of the students exit the bus in a rural area near Country Road 45. Law enforcement, emergency medical services and additional buses arrived to the scene soon after.
Students were released to parents at the scene, and remaining students were transported to their residences by bus service, the sheriff's office said in their Facebook post.
The driver, a 74-year-old man, was transported by ambulance to the hospital. Officials did not disclose what kind of medical issue the man was having, but described it as "serious," asking the community to keep the man in their prayers.
WCCO tried reaching out to the bus driver's family for any updates but haven't heard back.
