School Bus Mechanic Builds Wheelchair Ramp for Student

CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. — After seeing a mother struggle to get her daughter, who uses a wheelchair, to his bus, a vehicle mechanic and substitute bus driver rallied community members and built a ramp at their home.

Thomas Mitchell, who works for Clarksville-Montgomery County School System, noticed that Verna DeSpain was struggling to carry her daughter, Lydia, down the steps of their front porch to the bus on a portable ramp, CBS News reports.
 
Mitchell contacted a local Lowe’s store, which donated supplies, and with the help of two other vehicle mechanics and two other members of the community, he built a customized ramp for the mother and daughter, according to the school district’s Facebook page.

It took several months to design and plan the ramp, but one day in late January, Mitchell and his friends had it ready within three hours, according to CBS News. DeSpain told the school district that now that she and her daughter have the ramp, access in and out of their home is easy, and that there is even a deck included that they will enjoy sitting on.

Mitchell told the school district that “everybody should be helping out their neighbor,” and “so many people comment that it’s such a great thing. I challenge them to do the same. There’s no greater feeling.”

Watch the school district's Facebook page video of Mitchell and DeSpain talking about their experience below.