HENRICO, Va. — A beloved school bus driver here suffered an unknown medical emergency while behind the wheel on the first day of school last week and died, Richmond Times-Dispatch reports.

Henrico County Public Schools officials told the newspaper that Richard Hall, 58, collapsed in his parked bus just before he was to start driving his afternoon route. The approximately 50 students aboard the bus filed out of the emergency exit of the bus as staff members addressed the situation, Brian Fellows, principal of Holman Middle School, told Richmond Times-Dispatch. He added that Hall would have been proud of the students for how they handled the emergency.

Parents have contacted school officials to offer condolences, and Fellows told the newspaper that “it’s been comforting to see the amount of people who cared about Mr. Hall,” who worked for the school district since 2009. Josh Davis, the transportation director for the school district, told Richmond Times-Dispatch that being a school bus driver “appeared to be his calling and a job that he loved.”

Lina Price, Hall’s fiancée, told the newspaper that Hall tried to mentor the students on his bus. Ann Shelton, Hall’s mother, recalled that he served as a safety monitor when he was in elementary school.

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