
Thanks to his calmness and reflexes, a 13-year-old student managed to avoid a collision with a school bus in Michigan, USA, when the driver suddenly fell ill and passed out at the wheel.
Toddler Dillon Reeves was riding the school bus with about 60 of his classmates when he realized the driver had passed out.
"He jumped out of his seat, dropped his backpack and ran forward while the bus was moving," Robert Livernois, Michigan's state schools superintendent, said at a news conference Thursday.
The incident happened on Wednesday in the city of Warren, north of Detroit, when students were returning home.
In a video from the school's camera, the driver can actually be seen feeling uncomfortable and at one point fainting. 13-year-old Dillon Reeves rushes over and grabs the wheel, slams on the brakes and brings the vehicle to a stop as terrified children scream.
He is then heard shouting to his classmates to call for help immediately. An ambulance took the driver to the nearest hospital and according to CNN, he is out of danger.
The student's reaction "made the difference", emphasized Robert Livernoi. Visibly touched, but also proud, the 13-year-old's parents praised their son at the press conference, describing him as a "little hero".
Thanks to Dillon Reeves, " a potentially tragic accident was averted ," Councilman Jonathan Lafferty wrote in a Facebook post.