Angel connects student hero and bus driver
Published: January 3, 2007
She’s being called a hero for quick-thinking on a school bus two weeks ago when the driver died, but 15-year-old Sherilyn Puffer returned to school Wednesday with a heavy heart.
She knew she’d be thinking about Dale Harris as she rode the bus to school for the first time since he suffered a heart attack while driving students home for the Christmas break.
“I usually try to forget about it because I don’t want to get all depressed or anything,” Puffer told CBC News.
“But I still have a little angel he gave me, so I kind of remember it every time I get on the bus or every time I pass that road where he died.”
Bravery ceremony planned
The Royal Canadian Legion in Clements Port plans to honour Puffer, her friend Kelsey Amero and fellow student Sheldon Manning for bravery during the incident. A ceremony is set for Jan. 9.
Puffer was in high spirits when she got on the bus at Annapolis West Education Centre on Dec. 20, the last day of school before the holiday break and the day she was celebrating her birthday with friends.
But as their bus ride was coming to an end, Harris “just turned purple and immediately fell out of his seat,” said Puffer, a Grade 9 student. “We didn’t know what was going on so we ran up there … and we lifted him up on his chair.”
Students reacted quickly
Puffer grabbed the steering wheel to make sure the bus didn’t veer off the road, while Amero reached for the brake and turned off the engine. Manning ran out and flagged down a passing truck for help.
For Puffer, losing Harris also meant losing a friend.
Three years ago, Puffer spent weeks in hospital. When she was well enough to go back to school, Harris gave her a statue of an angel.
He said she was “the nicest kid on the bus,” Puffer recalled.
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