ISLE, Minn. -- Some students in Minnesota had a school bus ride this week they’ll never forget. Eleven kids were trapped for nearly 15 minutes on a runaway school bus after their driver suffered a medical emergency and lost control.
The children ranging in age from 6 to 14 were on their way home from school in Isle, Minnesota Wednesday when their driver suffered a medical emergency and lost control of the bus.
A sheriff’s deputy saw the school bus weaving erratically and tried to intervene. Her dash cam recorded the scary ride.
“She first saw the vehicle within its lane weaving a little bit. She thought: ‘that’s not right.’ She turned her lights on and …trying to stop it the weaving became more pronounced,” said Scott Turner , Aitkin Co., MN Sheriff.
The bus was traveling about 40 m.p.h. At one point it swerved into a ditch, almost tipped over then somehow made it back onto the road.
The deputy tried to warn oncoming traffic.
“Getting around the bus in the opposite lane to alert vehicles that were ahead of the bus… Warning about a problem in the roadway and warning them to get out of the way.”
A state trooper eventually used “stop sticks” to get the bus to stop in a ditch.
The terrifying ride went for about 5 miles and lasted 14 minutes. Kids on the bus used their cellphones to call 911 and their parents during the ordeal.
The 68-year-old bus driver was rushed to the hospital. None of the kids on the bus were hurt.
