Three heroes

You never know. Nobody would have guessed 52-year-old bus driver Dale Harris would have a fatal heart attack while behind the wheel on Highway 8 in Milford. But nobody knew either that there were three heroes on the bus when it happened.

Of course those aren’t the kinds of things one thinks about at all on the last day of school before Christmas on the way home to a birthday party. It’s the tragic yet inspirational story of two girls and a boy, none of them old enough to drive, taking control of a situation most adults would find harrowing. And it happened on a road known for its bumps, and hills, and many twists and tuws.

Harris had apparently started to slow down for a stop but then passed it. When he slumped forward students thought at first he was reaching to open the door. When the reality hit home that he was in distress, Sherilyn Puffer, Kelsey Amero, both 15, and Sheldon Maling, 14, went into action as a team.

Sheldon held Harris up, Sherilyn took the wheel and steered the bus, which was heading towards the ditch, and Kelsey managed to reach the brakes, stop the vehicle, and turn off the ignition.

The quick-thinking students didn’t stop there. Their concern was for Harris now. They used the bus radio to try to get in contact with the bus garage, not realizing the volume was turned down. They sent a boy to the nearby home to call 911. They flagged down two logging trucks and the drivers started CPR. And Sherilyn took Harris’ cell phone and called her mother, telling her there was an accident and they were scared and cold.

“It took all of them to do what had to be done, and they did it without a second thought,� said Sherilyn’s mother.

With ambulance and police on the scene, Sherilyn’s mother took the half dozen kids to her home where a very somber birthday party was held. She called the parents of the other children and explained what happened. And then she received the call that Harris had died. She called all the parents back and told them the tragic news, allowing them to tell their children when they arrived home. And when the party was over, she told Sherilyn about Harris’ death – and she was devastated.

That Harris died is tragic. He was well loved by students, and by all accounts was a kind, thoughtful, and generous man with a good sense of humour. But it is unreasonable to think those students could have saved his life. It’s beyond amazing that three of them recognized what was happening and took swift action, as a team, to save the lives of themselves and others. One life was lost but six were saved.

If ever there was a time to celebrate heroism in Annapolis County, it’s now. If ever there was a time to but our faith in our youth, it’s now. If ever there was a time to believe in angels, it’s now.

Once, when Sherilyn was sick, Harris gave her an angel.