14-year-old Matt Stauffer is being hailed a hero after he saved a bus full of students.
He was able to handle an emergency situation that could’ve escalated into something worse.
The teen from Carbon County, Pennsylvania said he just did what he “thought was right.”
He told news station WNEP: “I wasn’t really thinking, I was just acting. Just doing what I thought was right.”
When Stauffer got on the bus around 7:30 am, he knew something was off. The worried looks on other students’ faces led him to find a terrifying sight.
“They were all looking up at the bus driver and I turned around and saw he was slumped over,” he recalled.
“The only thing holding him up at that point was his seat belt,” he added. The 14-year-old then jumped into action.
Stauffer noticed the driver’s foot was on the gas pedal, so he knew it was up to him to do something.
“I reached up, turned the bus off, and then I put the keys in my pocket. No one else could get them,” he told WNEP.
The teen then said he instructed other students to evacuate and contact 911. Superintendent Dr. Brian Gasper said he is very proud of the students.
“Last week we just did bus evacuation drills, so we do have a process and procedures and we do go through that with every bus,” Gasper told BRC TV.
Gasper and the school administration are amazed by how calmly the students reacted during the situation.
Stauffer’s mother, Patty Stauffer, also wrote on Twitter and said: “This morning Matt jr. and Ivy got on the bus as usual, but the bus driver started having a seizure. Matt took complete control of the entire situation and got the drivers foot off the gas, secured the bus, got everyone safely off the bus and stayed calm and cool the entire time!
“Paramedics and police arrived but Matt continued to stay calm and in control!! The principal of the high school called me and said he is a hero for everything he did! I couldn’t be more proud of him!!”
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