Heroic 14-year-old girl takes the wheel of a runaway school bus in Casino as it ploughs toward a busy petrol station
A 14 year old girl saved a runaway school bus from disaster in an incident that would be hard to believe if it hadn’t been captured on CCTV.
Izzy Miller, from Casino High School in northern NSW, showed mercy under pressure by taking the wheel and saving the 20 students from a terrible fate.
Last Wednesday, the bus was at the corner of Frederick Street and Queensland Road in Casino at the end of the school day when it began driving towards a busy gas station across the road.
Year 9 student Izzy, who was talking to a friend, realized the driver was not on the bus and sprang into action.
“He drove near the gas tank and no one did anything, so I jumped up, sprang into action and sent him away,” she told police. ABC.
Izzy Miller (pictured), 14, saved a runaway school bus from disaster in an incident that would be hard to believe if it hadn’t been caught on CCTV
Her lightning-fast response to a desperate situation was born out of concern for her fellow students.
“If I hadn’t done something about it, something really bad could have happened to the children,” she said.
Sitting in the driver’s seat, she quickly pressed one of the pedals to see if it was the brake.
Luckily, she guessed right and kept pressing the brakes, steering the bus to safety across the road by the servo, miraculously avoiding the bowsers.
CCTV footage then showed the terrified children running into the store for help.
Izzy’s mother, Rebecca Miller, said the community was very grateful for what her daughter had done.
At the end of the school day, a bus was parked at the corner of Frederick Street and Queensland Road in Casino (pictured) when it started driving towards a busy petrol station across the road
“The principal said that if Izzy had not behaved the way she did that day, he would have made very different calls,” the proud mother said.
The gas station owner, Erin Witton, is also grateful for Izzy’s quick thinking.
“I had a guy pumping gas at the time. “If that bus had hit the bowser, worst case scenario it would have exploded,” she said.
The Richmond Police District is investigating the incident.