Five middle school students in Hancock County, Mississippi, prevented a potential disaster when their bus driver lost consciousness from an asthma attack on Apr. 23, 2026.
The emergency occurred on Wednesday afternoon, shortly after the bus departed Hancock Middle School with approximately 40 students on board. Driver Leah Taylor, 46, experienced a severe asthma attack while driving on a four-lane highway.
She attempted to reach for her medication but blacked out before she could administer it. Student McKenzy Finch recalled the frightening moment when Taylor "kind of fell over, like flopped over, and everyone started standing up."
Avoiding a Disaster
Jackson Casnave, a 12-year-old sixth grader sitting directly behind the driver, noticed the bus beginning to swerve off course, according to the New York Times. He immediately jumped up to grab the steering wheel and called for his classmates to help.
Another sixth grader, 12-year-old Darrius Clark, hit the brakes, though the air brakes nearly threw him forward. Working together, the two boys maneuvered the bus onto the highway median and brought it to a complete stop.
Darrius's sister, 13-year-old Kayleigh Clark, ran from the back of the bus to the front and dialed 911, though she struggled to hear the emergency operator over the screaming students.
Meanwhile, eighth grader Destiny Cornelius, 15, noticed Taylor was holding her nebulizer and helped administer the medicine. Sixth grader McKenzy Finch, 13, held Taylor's head steady and answered a phone call from the district's transportation team to report the incident, NBC News reported.
No injuries were reported, and Taylor has made a full recovery. The driver expressed deep gratitude to the students, telling them, "they're the ones that saved my life and everybody else's on that bus."
The five students were honored at a pep rally on Friday, Apr. 25, 2026, and will be treated to a special lunch outing at a restaurant of their choice. Hancock Middle School Principal Dr. Melissa Saucier praised their actions, stating, "what they did took courage, they didn't wait for somebody to step in, they stepped up themselves," as per Times Now News.
