When you’re running a little late for work, you expect to be rushing more than usual and maybe eating a hurried breakfast. You don’t expect to see a terrifying bus crash with the driver still trapped inside.
This is what happened to Kenny Ferree.
Ferree was running late for work when he saw the terrifying scene of a school bus almost completely crushed and wrapped against a metal post.
The crash was so big that it made the local news.
The bus crash happened in Forest Hills, a suburb of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The bus slammed against a steel support pillar of the well-known welcome sign along Ardmore Boulevard.
It was unclear if the crash was caused by mechanical failure, driver error, or a medical emergency.
Fortunately, only the bus driver was inside. The school bus had just dropped off a busload of students at a Pittsburgh Public School.
“Quite frankly, if anybody looks at this, you’ve got to wonder how the driver even survived,” said Ross Guidotti, KDKA reporter at the scene.
Guidotti said that the pillar “acted like a can opener,” ripping off the right side of the bus.
The bus was almost torn in half.
The engine, tires, and front axle of the bus were lying across the road, separate from the main body of the bus. Guidotti reported that this showed just how intense the impact of the bus on the post was.
Many people passed by the crash site, but Ferree was the first to go up to the bus and assist the driver.
His actions were caught on video. You can see that he has no shirt on and is reaching inside the crumpled metal, trying to help the driver.
“The man was just sitting like this in the vehicle, and he looked like he was still conscious, just shaken up. I crawled up to the wreckage, the closest I could get to him. His head was bleeding,” said Ferree.
The driver was bleeding significantly and still trapped inside the bus.
Ferree climbed up and talked to the driver, who seemed disoriented. Ferree said the driver asked if he was in a crash.
“I had nothing with me; I’m covered in blood. I took my shirt off and I wrapped my shirt around his head and put his head back and I held him,” Ferree continued.
“We had a little conversation. He wasn’t sure what was going on,” Ferree also said.
Ferree was the epitome of a Good Samaritan.
He jumped into the scene with the singular goal of helping the driver through this ordeal. We can only hope that more people act like Ferree when faced with the opportunity to help instead of going about their day.
Thirty minutes later, the driver was pulled out of the wreckage and brought to the hospital, where he was in stable condition.
While the accident itself was horrific, there are still many aspects to be grateful for in this situation.
The bus had already dropped off its young passengers, the driver remained miraculously alive, and no one else got hurt in the crash.
Lastly, we got a new role model in Kenny Ferree. He demonstrated that we should always say yes when presented with an unexpected opportunity to help.
Watch the news report covering the crash below.
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