'Hero' teens steered bus to safety after driver's heart attack

The pair, along with more than 20 other students from Aquinas College, were on board the bus on the Gold Coast yesterday afternoon when the 70-year-old driver had the medical episode.

A teen girl, just 15 and not yet old enough to drive, and a male student managed to bring the bus under control so safely that no one was injured.

“Us students on the bus, we didn’t know what was happening and everyone was screaming,” Bennet Rogers said.

“She had to steer the bus so we didn’t crash into a building,” he added, speaking about the female student who grabbed the wheel.

The 15-year-old had help from a male student in year 12 who managed to hit the brakes. 

“We were only going like five [kilometres an hour], 10 k’s, so I was like I better just stop the bus before it gets any worse,” Daniel Knight said.

“She opened the door up, she was calming everyone down.”

Their actions have been commended by the school in a letter to parents. The principal said there would be an investigation into what happened.

The bus driver remains in hospital and is recovering from surgery.

Many are calling for the girl to be recognised with a bravery award. That call was backed by Premier Steven Miles who told 9News he’d personally nominate her.

“She’s a hero for that, definitely,” another fellow student, Brodie Wilkinson, said.

“I really hope she gets an award or something.”