Driver Falls Ill: Ibro Ahmed Stops Runaway School Bus and Saves 19 Children in Minnesota
In Minnesota, USA, a school bus began moving out of control when its driver suddenly fell ill at the wheel. At that very moment, a young man standing outside a nearby shop leapt aboard the moving bus and pulled the emergency brake, bringing it to a stop. All 19 students on board escaped unharmed.
The brave young man is Ibro Ahmed, aged 27. He says he was inspired by a verse of the Holy Quran — which teaches that saving one life is like saving all of humanity.
The incident took place four days ago, in front of Ahmed's family shop in St. Paul, Minnesota. He described the whole episode in an interview on Friday, and on Saturday the British newspaper The Guardian published a report on it.
Surveillance camera footage from the shop shows Ahmed playing football outside the family store, 'Ya Bricks Snacks and Tobacco', during a break on Monday afternoon. Just then, he noticed a yellow school bus passing by with its door open.
Ahmed said he realised something was seriously wrong when he saw foam coming from the bus driver's mouth — which can be a sign of a seizure. Without a moment's delay, he ran and leapt through the door into the moving bus.
Once inside, he first tried to put the bus into 'park' mode. All around him, frightened students were screaming. Amid that chaos, he pulled the bus's emergency brake, and the vehicle came to a halt.
Thanks to that quick decision, nobody inside the bus or on the street was injured. Had the moving bus travelled a little further, a major accident could have occurred, it is believed.
On Friday, the St. Paul Public School District confirmed in a statement that a medical emergency had taken place on the bus in front of Ahmed's family shop that day, for which paramedics' assistance had been required.
School authorities said another bus was sent to take the 19 students on board safely home. In other words, every child returned to their family safe and sound.
The ill bus driver was taken to hospital. After treatment he was released, and he is now resting at home, it has been learned.
In his interview with The Guardian, Ahmed said: 'I understand maths, and this maths made sense to me. I didn't do it for myself; I did it selflessly, for God.'
He added that at the moment he rescued the children on Monday, that Quranic verse came to his mind — 'Whoever saves a life, it is as if they have saved all of humanity.' That belief gave him the courage to take the risk and board the bus.
The incident has sparked discussion across the United States. How the quick courage of an ordinary shop worker saved the lives of 19 children is now the talk of many.
