Heroic actions put student in spotlight

Fife school administrators and the family of a quick-acting Milton middle school student have been inundated with phone calls from national television shows after the boy guided his school bus safely off the road Monday after the driver had a medical emergency.

Among those calling were “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” and an Australian television station, requesting to speak with seventh-grader Jeremy Wuistchick about his actions. CNN ran local television news reports on the incident.

“There is a bevy of different groupings out there that want to talk to the kids or have them on the shows,” Jeff Short, deputy superintendent for Fife Public Schools, said Tuesday.

Wuitschick’s family has decided to curtail most interviews, Short said. A request by The News Tribune was declined.

Wuitschick retold his story to local media Monday, hours after he grabbed the wheel when the bus driver passed out, steered the vehicle to the curb and did some chest compressions on the stricken man.

The 43-year-old driver, whose name was not released, was taken to a Tacoma-area hospital, where his condition was described as grave, Short said. His family has requested that no more information be released.

The incident happened about 8 a.m. on Milton Way near the entrance of Surprise Lake Middle School. The bus was turning into the school when the driver likely had a heart attack, Short said.

“The bus driver is acting all funny,” Wuitschick told KIRO-TV. “He’s shaking. His arms are flailing. His eyes are bulging, and he’s making weird rasping noises with his mouth.”

Surveillance video from the bus showed the driver slump in his seat, apparently unconscious. Students could be heard yelling, “Call 911! Call 911!” “Stop the bus!” and “Take the keys out of the ignition!”

“So I take action. I leap off my chair,” Wuitschick said. “I grab the wheel, turn it to the right side of the road. I take the keys out of the ignition and start slowing down.” He then began chest compressions.

The bus hit a curb, bumping and finally stopping. Another student, Johnny Wood, trained in first aid by the Red Cross, also ran to the front of the bus to help.

“His eyes were rolling back and I could tell it was getting harder for him to breathe,” Wood told KIRO-TV.

Milton police received several calls about an erratically driven school bus and a nearby officer showed up quickly. A Fife school administrator saw what was happening and pulled over after Wuitschick got the bus stopped.

The 12 students on the bus were escorted off as the administrator started CPR on the bus driver.

Police Chief Bill Rhoads credited Wuitschick’s quick thinking with getting the bus pulled over safely. The bus didn’t hit any other vehicles, and no one was injured.

“We’re just happy the kid was thinking on his feet,” Rhoads said. “(He did) a great job.”

This story was originally published April 9, 2012 at 7:20 PM.