We tend to believe that young people are careless. The truth is that most of them are only interested in hanging out with friends and having fun. But there are also those who pay close attention to their lessons and gather knowledge on different subjects, something that comes in handy when they need it the most.
A teen named Matt Stauffer from Carbon County saved the day and the lives of his fellow classmates thanks to his quick thinking and the emergency-related lessons he had at school.
That morning seemed like any other. He boarded the school bus and headed to his seat when he noticed his friends had strange looks on their faces. It was obvious they were frightened and confused. Matt had no idea what was going on, but he then became aware of the danger that was lurking.
When he took a look at the bus driver, Matt knew trouble would be on the way unless he reacted quickly. The driver didn’t feel fine and was leaning out of his seat.
Speaking to ABC affiliate WNEP 16, Matt said, “So I turned around, and the bus driver was like leaning out of his seat and only his seatbelt was holding him up.”
He rushed to the driver’s seat and noticed his foot was still on the gas pedal. Matt reached for the keys and turned the bus’ engine off. He then instructed the students to get out of the bus and called 911.
“Once they saw I was taking control, they all listened to me and they got off the bus and they all stayed in one area,” Matt said of his friends.
Luckily, first responders arrived just in time to take the bus driver to the hospital. He’s now feeling fine and is home resting.
Superintendent Dr. Brian Gasper told WNEP 16, “It’s refreshing to know that the students paid attention and employed the skills that we gave them last week, but also just snapping into action and the focus that he and the other students exhibited.”
As the school district is planning on expressing appreciation to Matt and the rest of the students, the teen says his act wasn’t heroic, he just did what he thought was right.
For more on this beautiful story go to the video below.