Gold coast bus crash hero teen girl steers safety drive heart attack 20240709 p5z47b.html – Breaking News & Latest Updates 2026
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Teenagers who steered bus to safety after driver's heart attack hailed as 'heroes'

9News Staff

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Two teenagers who worked together to stop a school bus when the driver had a heart attack have been described as heroes.

The pair, along with more than 20 other students from Aquinas College, were on board the bus on the Gold Coast yesterday afternoon when the 70-year-old driver had the medical episode.

A teen girl, just 15 and not yet old enough to drive, and a male student managed to bring the bus under control so safely that no one was injured.

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Gold Coast bus crash - teenage students steer it to safety after driver had heart attack

Two students are being hailed as heroes after steering a bus full of their classmates to safety when the driver had a heart attack. 9News

"Us students on the bus, we didn't know what was happening and everyone was screaming," Bennet Rogers said.

"She had to steer the bus so we didn't crash into a building," he added, speaking about the female student who grabbed the wheel.

The 15-year-old had help from a male student in year 12 who managed to hit the brakes. 

"We were only going like five [kilometres an hour], 10 k's, so I was like I better just stop the bus before it gets any worse," Daniel Knight said.

"She opened the door up, she was calming everyone down."

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Gold Coast bus crash - teenage students steer it to safety after driver had heart attack

Year 12 student Daniel Knight helped the teen girl steering by hitting the brakes on the bus. 9News

Their actions have been commended by the school in a letter to parents. The principal said there would be an investigation into what happened.

The bus driver remains in hospital and is recovering from surgery.

Many are calling for the girl to be recognised with a bravery award. That call was backed by Premier Steven Miles who told 9News he'd personally nominate her.

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"She's a hero for that, definitely," another fellow student, Brodie Wilkinson, said.

"I really hope she gets an award or something."

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