COLUMBUS, Ohio – When the driver of a Columbus City Schools bus suffered an apparent cardiac arrest behind the wheel Tuesday morning, a nurse who rushed to the scene performed CPR, possibly saving his life.
The bus carrying six students crashed into a street sign on the southeast corner of the intersection of Sullivant Avenue and Demorest Road on the West Side at shortly after 8:00 a.m., Columbus police said.
None of the students was injured, police said.
When officers arrived on the scene, the 51-year-old driver was unconscious, but a nurse who was among the first on the scene performed CPR and the driver was taken to Mt. Carmel West Hospital.
The bus was transporting the students to nearby Imagine Academy, a charter elementary school when the driver suffered a medical problem which has not been specified and slumped over the wheel, school district spokesman Jeff Warner said.
“We’re just very appreciative of the passers-by who stopped and, not only provided medical assistance, but also helped get the kids out of the street,” he said.
Warner described the children as “very scared” in the wake of the accident.