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(File photo)
SOUTHERN UTAH -- A parent in Southern Utah is being called a hero after he saved a school bus full of kids from driving off the freeway.
Washington County School District Superintendent Max Rose said the bus was traveling from Cedar City to St. George on the way back from an arts festival Tuesday when the bus driver blacked out and went limp.
"That parent jumped up and took control of the wheel, turned off the engine and coasted it to the side of the road," said Rose.
Rose said they're "thanking their lucky stars" the driver had his medical emergency where the road was straight.
"A few miles away we go into the black hills, you know the black ridge. We think that if it had happened any place other than it did it could have really been a disaster," said Rose.
The school district isn't sure yet what went wrong with the bus driver, but Rose says the driver refused to go to the hospital and instead was taken home.
All the middle school-aged kids on board were OK.
Rose said a lot of people are thankful for the quick-acting parent, especially in light of a similar accident that involved the American Fork High School marching band. A teacher was killed in a bus crash outside of Pocatello, Idaho Oct. 10. That teacher was trying to grab the wheel to keep the bus from driving off the road.
E-mail: rjeppesen@ksl.com
