Wisconsin eighth grader gets behind the wheel of his school bus after driver loses consciousness

It was a normal end to a school day in late April for Acie Holland III, an eighth-grader at Glen Hills Middle School in Glendale, Wisconsin.

He followed his routine and boarded the school bus to go home. The bus driver joked with the students, Holland said, before putting on her headphones.

Then things took a sudden turn.

From his seat in the middle of the bus, Holland said the bus driver looked a little sick or tired and his head was down. He knew something was wrong when she kept pressing the gas and missed a block.

“She turned the corner and there’s another street that we usually take. She stepped on the gas and came around the corner, and I looked up,” Holland told CNN.

He walked to the front of the bus to check on her, but she didn’t respond, he said. She had temporarily lost consciousness and the bus was heading toward oncoming traffic. Holland rushed to take her foot off the accelerator. He said he braked and parked the bus safely.

“I wasn’t really scared, I was just trying to get the bus to stop,” he said.

After stopping the bus, Holland contacted 911 and his grandmother, who is a nursing assistant. He also asked the other 13 to 15 students on board to call their families.

“Everyone was saying ‘thank you’ because I saved their lives,” said Holland, who hopes to one day own a hair salon or mechanic shop.

Anna Young, principal of Glen Hills Middle School, wrote in a note to families that “the community could not be more proud of Acie.”

“The compassion and leadership we see him demonstrate every day reached a new level on his bus ride home yesterday. We are grateful that all of our Glen Hills students are safe and wish their driver a healthy recovery,” she continued.

Eventually, the driver regained consciousness and called the bus company, Riteway, which sent another driver to bring the students home safely.

According to the school principal, the driver experienced a medical emergency and was receiving treatment.

Holland’s parents are incredibly proud and relieved.

Holland’s father, Acie Holland II, initially didn’t believe him when he heard the story later that day.

“Dad, I saved the school bus from crashing,” he told him. In the end, the story didn’t surprise him.

“He was always a very fast person. That’s one of my things that I know he’s capable of, not on the school bus, but just in general, being able to help someone in need,” Holland’s father told CNN. “But I’m proud of what he did.”

The small, tight-knit community continues to show its pride since the incident. At a school board meeting earlier this week, Holland was recognized with a proclamation from the mayor and city council. The Glendale Police Department and Milwaukee Fire Department also praised his heroism.

Holland had some experience with vehicles. Since he was little, he has worked with his father, a certified automotive technician.

“It was like he was in the right place at the right time. It was this way, it was meant to be this way for a variety of reasons, the most important of which was the safety of others,” Young said.

Holland appreciates all the recognition he receives. He says he’s just happy he was able to get everyone home safely. He says the experience gave him more self-confidence.

“I feel more confident going through a fight or flight moment,” he said.

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