ATKINSON, NH — Two New Hampshire students were lauded as heroes this week after stopping their school bus when the driver collapsed. Third-grader Nolan Barry, 8, and fourth-grader Thomas MacKeen, 9, prevented a potential disaster, police said. The driver and all students on the bus survived.
The boys were aboard the bus in Atkinson Tuesday afternoon when the driver passed out. The driver, a woman, fell off her seat and hit the floor, according to Atkinson Police Chief Timothy Crowley.
“Both boys ran to the front of the bus,” Crowley said in a statement. “Barry, having observed the bus driver operate the bus controls during the year, activated the emergency braking system bringing the bus to a stop.”
Crowley continued, “Both boys tried to open the door but could not and even tried to kick it open to no avail.”
There were three other students on the bus and they started to panic.
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“(MacKeen) calmed them down and got them back into their seats,” Crowley said. “He and Barry began pounding on the windows to get the attention of one of the student’s parent who eventually was able to help them get off the bus through the rear emergency door.”
The driver was hospitalized and expected to be OK.
“These two boys did a great job in staying calm during a chaotic situation and prevented the incident from getting worse,” Crowley said.
The boys told WHDH they tried to wake the driver but she didn’t resond. Nolan said he then looked at the wheel of the bus.
“I saw this button that said emergency brake so I read the directions,” Nolan told WHDH. “You just had to pull, it spin it two times, and let it go, and that’s when I stopped the bus.”
Nolan’s father told the news station he’s proud “to know these guys had the fortitude to jump in, help out, ask for help … You compliment the school and bus system for doing evacuation drills. Making them comfortable in that situation really helped out.”
The boys are students at Atkinson Academy, the town’s public elementary school. Atkinson is in Rockingham County and borders Salem.
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