The driver of the Megabus was traveling down the Pennsylvania Turnpike, near the Bedford Exit, when she suffered a “medical episode” and began swerving in and out of her lane, nearly hitting a car.
A passing truck driver noticed the bus driver appeared to be unconscious and blew his horn to alert the passengers something was amiss.
Pastor and recent CDL graduate James Grantz approached the driver, who was incoherent, and tried to get her to move out of her seat, so he could take over the wheel.
At the same time, two trucks lined up on each side of the bus–essentially sandwiching the bus in– to prevent the bus from running off of the highway.
Stefon Braxton told WPXI, “It was pretty scary for a while. We just kept feeling the bus swaying from side to side.”
“It would hit and bounce back a little bit. They kept us from swaying more,” Braxton continued. “When you look out the window the truck was right there. This is how close they were to us.”
The driver wouldn’t vacate her seat, so Grantz commandeered the wheel from her.
“He jumped into the seat and actually sat on the driver’s lap and took control of the wheel,” Braxton told WPXI. “Once he got the steering wheel, the other passengers got the driver out of her seat.”
Eventually, Grantz regained control over the bus and pulled it off of the highway to safety.
The Megabus company said in a statement that the bus driver appeared to have experienced a medical episode and that she was taken to the hospital and released and that the company has reviewed video footage from the incident and that the bus did not make contact with the trucks on either side. The bus company also maintains the bus driver did not lose consciousness.
Thanks to Gantz’s and the two truck drivers’ quick reaction, all the passengers on board were unharmed.
“These two guys really saved our lives. After we got off to the side, they just drove off. So I just wanted to let them know we thank you,” Braxton said.
Great job, drivers!
