Driver honored for actions to save students before car-bus collision

WINNIPEG, Manitoba — A school bus driver here has been honored for his actions to save the lives of 18 children in a collision involving his bus last month.

Aboriginal Affairs Minister Eric Robinson gave Kenneth Paul an aboriginal star blanket ceremony and a provincial plaque last week to recognize his heroism. Following the ceremony, Robinson delivered a statement on Paul’s actions in the legislative chamber, making the act of heroism an official part of Manitoba's historical record, Winnipeg Free Press reports.

On May 27, Paul was transporting students home when a car struck his bus. However, he’d seen the car coming, slowed down and pulled off to the shoulder of the road in order to move out of the way as much as possible before the collision occurred. 

Royal Canadian Mounted Police officers who investigated the accident have credited Paul for saving the kids from death or serious injury, according to Winnipeg Free Press. (One student sustained minor injuries in the incident, while a baby and three others in the car died.)