Quick Thinking Students Save Lives After Bus Driver Collapses on Highway

Clear Facts

• A group of Mississippi middle school students stopped a runaway school bus after their driver suffered an asthma attack and lost consciousness on a highway
• Twelve-year-old Jackson Casnave grabbed the steering wheel while Darrius Clark hit the brakes, guiding the bus carrying 40 students to safety
• Students also called 911 and administered the driver’s asthma medication, potentially saving her life

A group of Mississippi middle school students jumped into action this week to stop a school bus after the driver lost consciousness on a highway, preventing a potential crash. About 40 students from Hancock Middle School were on board when their driver, Leah Taylor, 46, suffered an asthma attack shortly after leaving campus.

Taylor attempted to grab her medication but passed out before she could reach it. Without hesitation, the students sprang into action to keep the bus from crashing.

Sixth grader Jackson Casnave, 12, who was sitting behind the driver, noticed the bus begin to swerve. He rushed forward to grab the wheel and called for help.

“I didn’t have time to process my emotions. I just wanted to make sure that nobody got hurt.”

Darrius Clark, who is also 12, then hit the brakes, and the students steered the bus to a median and brought it to a stop. Clark’s sister, Kayleigh, 13, called 911, later saying she struggled to hear the operator over the screams from classmates.

“I was scared, but also I had to help.”

Eighth grader Destiny Cornelius, 15, saw the driver holding a nebulizer and helped administer the medication, while 13-year-old McKenzy Finch assisted. Finch also noticed the driver’s phone ringing and alerted the district’s transportation team about what had happened.

Taylor, who has since made a full recovery, praised the students for their actions.

“I’m grateful for my students. They’re the ones that saved my life and everybody else’s on that bus.”

The students were honored at a school pep rally Friday and are set to receive a celebratory lunch next week. This story stands as a powerful reminder that character, courage, and quick thinking aren’t determined by age — they’re cultivated through strong values and community.

“What they did took courage,” the school’s principal, Dr. Melissa Saucier, said.

“They didn’t wait for somebody to step in, they stepped up themselves, and that says a lot about their character.”

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