AKRON, Ohio, Sept. 16 (UPI) -- A school bus driver gave her own life Tuesday to save a 10-year-old student when a bus began rolling during a safety drill, said police in Akron, Ohio.
Forty young students at Middlebury Academy, a charter school, were practicing leaving the bus through the side and rear emergency doors when the accident occurred. All the students and the driver were outside the bus when it began rolling.
The driver grabbed a 10-year-old girl and threw her out of the path of the bus, police said. She then tried to get on the bus but was caught and dragged about 40 feet.
The bus hit an apartment building and came to rest against a tree after rolling 40 more feet.
The driver was taken to Summa Akron City Hospital where she was pronounced dead. She has been identified only as a 51-year-old woman pending notification of family members.
Adam Fugget, who lives in the apartment building, heard the sound of the bus hitting the wall and ran outside, cutting his hand as he climbed on board.
"She's definitely a hero," he said when he learned of the driver's fate.
The driver worked for Petermann Bus, a Cincinnati-based company contracted to provide transportation for private and charter schools in Akron.
