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School Bus Driver Honored for Helping Student’s Grandmother

Helen Johnson of Michigan is recognized by her company and the district she serves for checking on the student’s grandmother, who had fallen, and for staying until medical help arrived.

Nicole Schlosser
Nicole SchlosserFormer Executive Editor
August 23, 2018
School Bus Driver Honored for Helping Student’s Grandmother

Helen Johnson, shown center, was honored by her company and the district she serves for helping a student's grandmother, who had fallen.

2 min to read


Helen Johnson, shown center, was honored by her company and the district she serves for helping a student's grandmother, who had fallen.

LAKEVIEW, Mich. — A school bus driver here was honored for going above and beyond when she noticed something amiss at a student’s home and helped the student’s grandmother, who had fallen.

On July 16, Helen Johnson, a bus driver who works for Michigan Educational Transportation Services (METS), noticed that a student’s grandmother didn’t answer the door for the student when she arrived at home the way she usually did, the Daily News reports. After Johnson discovered that the grandmother had fallen and needed an ambulance, she called 911 and stayed with the student and grandmother until medical help arrived.

The student’s mother told the newspaper that her mother may have been stuck in the home for a couple more hours if Johnson hadn’t checked on her, and that her mother is doing better after spending some time in the hospital.

The Board of Education for Lakeview Community Schools, the district that Johnson drives for, recognized her actions at a meeting on Aug. 13. David England, the school board’s vice president, told Johnson in the meeting that the Board of Education and the community are proud of her for “going above and beyond by seeing a need and taking care of the problem.”

METS also recognized Johnson, presenting her with the company’s “Above and Beyond” award on Monday, at a back-to-school meeting for drivers, Chad Brown, vice president of sales and marketing, told SBF in an email.

Johnson has been a school bus driver for 30 years, and she has driven for METS for the last eight years, Brown added.

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