Feel-good story out of Baltimore

It's always nice to hear some good news. If you're from the Baltimore area, you know what I mean! This man was driving an MTA bus designated for school children. He saw Janai Stafford standing in the rain waiting for a bus, pulled over and offered to take her as far as he could. The kids told her he'd never stopped to pick anyone up before. She's 20 yrs old, with no kids (and no license), but she said her motherly instinct kicked in. She knew there was a wheel, a gas pedal and a brake, so she knew she'd hit one of them. What are the chances that this would happen on that day?! 98Rock interviewed her this morning, and her story gave me chills. And maybe I got a little teary-eyed.

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A Baltimore County woman saved a Maryland Transit Administration bus from crashing after the driver had some sort of medical emergency Tuesday afternoon, police said.

When Janai Stafford got on the bus in Owings Mills on Tuesday afternoon, she was looking forward to a relaxing afternoon.

Stafford said the bus she boarded outside a Giant was full of kids, so she stayed up front and stood next to the driver. She said they were approaching the Beltway when the incident happened.

"All of a sudden (the bus driver) said, 'Something's not right. I don't feel good. Something's not right,'" Stafford said. "And then all of a sudden, he passed out all over the wheel."

That's when Stafford said she knew she had to take control of the bus.

"I put my foot on his foot. I didn't even know what foot to put," Stafford said. "It just happened. I put my foot on his foot, and I just wrapped my arm around him, and I steered the bus to the right and parked it."

Stafford said she thinks about what could have happened.

"It could have gone onto (Interstate) 695. It could have drifted down Reisterstown Road," she said.

Stafford doesn't have a driver's license, she said.

The bus driver, who hasn't been identified, was taken to Northwest Hospital. His condition was not immediately known.

http://www.wbaltv.com/news/maryland/baltimore-county/Woman-saves-MTA-bus-after-driver-has-emergency/-/10136486/19111400/-/m70kxrz/-/index.html?absolute=true

Replies

  • wolverine66
    wolverine66 Posts: 3,779 Member
    weird.

    when i lived in MD, I lived 1/10 of a mile from that Giant, and know exactly where this happened.
  • CallMeCupcakeDammit
    CallMeCupcakeDammit Posts: 9,377 Member
    weird.

    when i lived in MD, I lived 1/10 of a mile from that Giant, and know exactly where this happened.

    Then you know what I mean when I say it's nice to hear some good news coming out of there.
  • wolverine66
    wolverine66 Posts: 3,779 Member
    weird.

    when i lived in MD, I lived 1/10 of a mile from that Giant, and know exactly where this happened.

    Then you know what I mean when I say it's nice to hear some good news coming out of there.

    Yes. I vividly remember when a random person walked into the movie theater there (closer to where i lived than the Giant) and shot someone and immediately surrendered himself (maybe 7 years ago, i think).

    actually, I googled the story:
    http://articles.baltimoresun.com/2006-12-19/news/0612190018_1_cogen-schrum-jabbar
  • CallMeCupcakeDammit
    CallMeCupcakeDammit Posts: 9,377 Member
    weird.

    when i lived in MD, I lived 1/10 of a mile from that Giant, and know exactly where this happened.

    Then you know what I mean when I say it's nice to hear some good news coming out of there.

    Yes. I vividly remember when a random person walked into the movie theater there (closer to where i lived than the Giant) and shot someone and immediately surrendered himself (maybe 7 years ago, i think).

    actually, I googled the story:
    http://articles.baltimoresun.com/2006-12-19/news/0612190018_1_cogen-schrum-jabbar

    That's seriously messed up that a man had to lose his life for that guy to be deemed mentally unstable. :frown:
  • caseythirteen
    caseythirteen Posts: 956 Member
    I heard that this morning too! Very cool story.
  • DorisR184
    DorisR184 Posts: 471 Member
    Wow! Talk about right place at the right time!
  • CallMeCupcakeDammit
    CallMeCupcakeDammit Posts: 9,377 Member
    Wow! Talk about right place at the right time!

    That's the part that gave me chills! The one time he picks up an adult, and this happens? She said she couldn't even stick around, she had things to do, but she's still trying to find out how the driver is doing. I would be forever grateful to her if one of my kids had been on that bus.
  • CallMeCupcakeDammit
    CallMeCupcakeDammit Posts: 9,377 Member
    Janai will be in the 98Rock studio on Tuesday if anyone's interested. http://98online.com/homepage