MONTCALM COUNTY, Mich. — A school bus in Carson City was rear-ended by an SUV Monday Oct. 16. The SUV was being driven by a 26-year-old woman with a baby in the backseat.
None of the students aboard the bus were seriously injured, however the at-fault driver was taken to a hospital with serious injuries. Fortunately the baby on board the SUV was uninjured.
The accident took place in front of the home of Daniele Mills who was waiting for her daughter to arrive home from school.
"I look up, I see the bus stop, the red light comes out, next thing you know, I look over and this car just rammed the whole backside of the bus," said Mills.
After Mills checked that her daughter was ok, she knew she had to do something for the driver of the SUV, who she said was pinned in her vehicle.
"She's screaming, worried about her kid," said Mills who then heard her baby crying in the backseat. "I ran over here and I got a drill to bust open her back windows to get the baby secure because I didn't know if it was something was going to start on fire, you know, then that situation is just like, let's do something, we got to do something."
"After I got her baby, I handed it to my sister to take her in the car and get her warm," Mills added.
Her home then became the staging ground, as the driver was airlifted to a hospital from her backyard, as parents arrived to pick up their children.
Mills said she is proud of the response that she saw from first responders, the bus driver, other drivers who stopped to help and her daughter's principal.
"Carson City was so good. Miss Shaver was here as soon as the EMS got here. She was here helping with the bus driver to make sure all the kids were okay," said Mills. She said felt relieved that the situation was not as dire as it could have been, and that it is a cautionary tale for other drivers.
"Pay attention to the roadway. Everybody's back in school. It's time to slow down a little bit and pay attention to your surroundings," said Mills.
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