First Student bus drivers are truly the best. Not only do they safely transport students on a daily basis, but regularly go above and beyond the call of duty, sometimes saving student lives! Check out some of our hero driver stories! ————————————————–
First Student school bus driver, Cindy Rivera was driving her bus early morning in New Haven when she noticed a car pulled over with a woman slumped over in her seat. Though she had no students on her bus, she was unable to get out of her bus due to the size of the street and its congestion, there was simply no safe place to pull over. As she tried to get attention of others, she asked the two men that she could flag down, to go over to the car. When they got there, there was no response from the woman. Not wasting any time, Cindy called 911. She waited until the ambulance came to the scene. Although we do not know the outcome of this incident, we can only hope that Cindy’s quick response and caring attitude made a difference.
We applaud Cindy for her concern!
A September day will forever etched in Driver Andre Burlachenko’s memory. It was a day a little girl’s life was saved thanks to Andre’s quick and decisive actions.
On Andre’s afternoon route, he was notified by a student that a fellow rider was not feeling well and appeared to be asleep or “playing dead.”. This student, an 8-year old third grader, had a history of playing with other children in that manner.
Andre remembered that the student in question had been to the emergency room the night prior and decided it would be best to pull the bus over and check on her.
When he went to the back of the bus to check on her, he found the student unresponsive, not breathing and without a pulse.
He immediately contacted dispatch to have emergency services dispatched to his location and began CPR compressions and mouth to mouth resuscitation on the child. He continued CPR on the student for approximately 10 minutes before she began breathing on her own. An off-duty EMS person, who heard the call across the radio and was in the area, got on the bus and assisted Andre until the paramedics arrived on scene.
A Life Flight helicopter was dispatched, and it remained on scene until the student was capable of riding by land transport to the nearest hospital.
Andre, your quick thinking and choice to utilize your first aid training is to be commended. Thank you for your dedicated service and for living our value of being Committed to our Customers.
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There’s a new superhero in New Haven, Connecticut and his name is Driver Joseph Barrant. A student on Joseph’s bus experienced a medical emergency during the afternoon bus ride home. An 11th grade student became unconscious after choking as a result of a seizure.
Joseph, hearing commotion in the rear of the bus, stopped the bus and notified dispatch that he had a medical emergency. He went to the aid of the student and lifted his head up, allowing him to start breathing. Emergency responders soon arrived on scene and transported the student to the hospital.
Thank you, Joseph, for your quick actions and response. You definitely showcase our value of being Committed to our Customers. We applaud you for your life-saving efforts.