2008 Woodie Awards
Cleveland boy stops runaway school bus
By: THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Issue date: 4/8/08 Section: State
CLEVELAND (AP) - Rolling downhill in a bus with his screaming classmates and no driver, a fast-acting boy jumped behind the wheel yesterday morning and steered the bus into a pillar, stopping it from careening out of control.
Some children jumped out the side door and rolled into the street. The driver, Michael Weir, had stopped for fuel and was in the station's restroom when the bus started to roll.
The 11-year-old who stopped the bus likely saved the children from worse injuries, authorities said.
"This kid did some quick thinking," said Larry Gray, a fire department spokesman.
Fifteen children suffered minor injuries.
Weir, whose bus was carrying 27 children in kindergarten through seventh grade, bought $40 of diesel at a station across the street from Progressive Field, home of the Cleveland Indians.
State law prohibits bus drivers from leaving their vehicles at any time when students are on board and drivers are not allowed to stop for gas during their route, said Scott Blake, spokesman for the Ohio Department of Education.
Authorities were trying to find out more about why Weir left the bus, which was carrying students to Arts Academy Community School West, a charter school that opened this year.
After buying the fuel, Weir stopped in the bathroom when the bus started to move.
Conner Strickland, the station's manger, said he saw it all.
He banged on the restroom door to alert the driver and then chased the bus, which was picking up speed. He heard screams and watched in horror as some children leapt from the bus.
"My heart dropped," Strickland said. "I'm surprised none of them got hit. There was a lot of traffic."
The boy who stopped the bus told police he first tried to pull the emergency brake. When that didn't work, he grabbed the wheel.
Barreling down the side street that swoops through an industrial area, the bus rolled about 300 feet, hopped over a curb and onto a sidewalk before it struck the pillar of a bridge that carries Interstate 90 into downtown.
Some children jumped out the side door and rolled into the street. The driver, Michael Weir, had stopped for fuel and was in the station's restroom when the bus started to roll.
The 11-year-old who stopped the bus likely saved the children from worse injuries, authorities said.
"This kid did some quick thinking," said Larry Gray, a fire department spokesman.
Fifteen children suffered minor injuries.
Weir, whose bus was carrying 27 children in kindergarten through seventh grade, bought $40 of diesel at a station across the street from Progressive Field, home of the Cleveland Indians.
State law prohibits bus drivers from leaving their vehicles at any time when students are on board and drivers are not allowed to stop for gas during their route, said Scott Blake, spokesman for the Ohio Department of Education.
Authorities were trying to find out more about why Weir left the bus, which was carrying students to Arts Academy Community School West, a charter school that opened this year.
After buying the fuel, Weir stopped in the bathroom when the bus started to move.
Conner Strickland, the station's manger, said he saw it all.
He banged on the restroom door to alert the driver and then chased the bus, which was picking up speed. He heard screams and watched in horror as some children leapt from the bus.
"My heart dropped," Strickland said. "I'm surprised none of them got hit. There was a lot of traffic."
The boy who stopped the bus told police he first tried to pull the emergency brake. When that didn't work, he grabbed the wheel.
Barreling down the side street that swoops through an industrial area, the bus rolled about 300 feet, hopped over a curb and onto a sidewalk before it struck the pillar of a bridge that carries Interstate 90 into downtown.
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