TOPSHAM, Maine — A group of Maine students safely stopped a school bus Monday morning after their 77-year-old bus driver suffered a medical event and lost control of the vehicle.
Topsham Police Chief Marc Hagan told WZZM that the driver lost control of the bus as it headed toward Mount Ararat Middle School and Mount Ararat High School at around 7:30 a.m.
“One kid steered the bus and pulled the emergency brake, one called 911 and some of the kids got off the bus to try to stop other cars,” Hagan said.
One of 14 students on the bus started CPR on the driver, WZZM reported.
The interim superintendent for Maine School Administrative District 75 identified the driver as Arthur McDougall of Lisbon in a Facebook notification sent to district staff and families Monday night, the Portland Press Herald reported.
“It is with great sadness that I write to inform you that Arthur McDougall, our bus driver, who was transported to the hospital this morning, has passed away,” Robert J. Lucy wrote in the post. “We offer our deepest condolences to Arthur’s family, friends and colleagues. This is very difficult news to share and process.”
According to WZZM, a Topsham police officer used a defibrillator on McDougall when he arrived, then firefighters took the man by ambulance to an area hospital where he later died.
In a phone interview with the Press Herald, Hagan said he was told that two brothers – one in high school and the other in middle school – prevented the bus from crashing by springing into action after McDougall lost consciousness at the wheel.
None of the students were injured, and the bus sustained no damage, WZZM reported.
“It’s great that they stood up and went into action. I don’t know how many lives they may have saved,” Hagan told the TV station.
©2022 Cox Media Group
