Student saves the day after bus accident

The bus was headed to Shields Elementary in Ruskin.

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Students and drivers involved in Friday morning's school bus accident in Manatee County are out of the hospital.

While Hillsborough County officials said the bus driver caused the crash, the courage of a 14-year-old girl is getting all the attention.

Bus driver Theresa Dowd just finished picking up students to take to Shields Middle School in Ruskin when Florida Highway Patrol Troopers said she began a U-turn on Highway 41 South without seeing a milk truck in the inside lane going about 45 mph. That's when the two collided.

Both drivers and 13 students suffered injuries, including 12-year-old Edwin Carlon, who walked away with a bloody shirt and three staples in his head.

"I hit the window with my head and that's when it cut," Carlon said.

Other students also received head injuries, like 14-year-old Mary Ferguson, who got a slight concussion.

"I don't remember much," Ferguson said. "All I remember is picking up the last kids at the last stop and my head hit the window four times and I blacked out."

However, the crash could have been much worse if it wasn't for 14-year-old Mariella Hernandez, who noticed the bus driver couldn't stop the bus.

"She was unconscious," Hernandez said. "She was laying down on the seat."

That's when the bus started to veer into the northbound lanes of traffic.

"I got up and I just ran straight to the driver and then I pushed the brakes because it kept on going and I didn't want it to flip over or

Mariella Hernandez shouldn't have much problem getting her driver's license in a couple years.

anything," Hernandez said.

That's when a nearby deputy jumped on board and the bus slowly came to a halt as it rolled into his patrol car. He and others are calling Hernandez a hero.

"Thank you to her because the other people didn't stop coming toward us and they would of hit us and it could have been a lot worse," Ferguson said.

Dowd was cited for improper change of lane for making the U-turn that led to the accident. She and the other driver have also been released from the hospital.

The school district said Dowd has only been on the job for a week, but has a clean driving record from other jobs in her past.





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