A 2-year-old boy was reunited with his family after being taken in a suspected carjacking in Michigan, all thanks to three school bus drivers.
On the morning of October 4, Dave Skinner, a bus driver for Kelloggsville Public Schools in Grand Rapids, was flagged down by two screaming parents while driving his bus.
When Dave opened the door to his bus, the parents explained that their vehicle was taken in a carjacking, with their 2-year-old baby still inside.
“They screamed at me that somebody had stolen their car with their baby in it,” Dave told WZZM, a news source in Grand Rapids.
The couple frantically asked if he could keep an eye out. Dave, who was in the middle of his morning routine, quickly called 911 and alerted fellow bus drivers on his radio.
Luckily, Sue Figueroa, a fellow bus driver also on her morning route, had her radio turned up.
She recalled that just before the alert went out, she had seen a toddler on the side of the road holding a blanket. Sue immediately turned her bus around and headed back toward where she saw the baby.
“I just saw … a little baby around the corner standing with a blanket on," Sue said into the radio.
Sue was able to locate the baby again, and ran to bring him on her school bus. Her heroic actions were caught on the surveillance video taken from the bus.
She is seen calming the child down and reassuring him, "I'm gonna get you home."
The family was reunited just minutes later, thanks to help from drivers who helped coordinate with Sue. She drove him back to where his panicked parents stood.
The child had allegedly been left on the side of the road after the carjacker stole the family's vehicle.
Kelloggsville Public Schools Superintendent James Alston told ABC News that “Sue Figueroa, David Skinner and Kristin Nickelson all did a great job getting this 2-year-old back with his parents. Sue and David were the drivers involved and Kristin is the director of transportation and helped coordinate their efforts.”
According to WZZM, officers at the Kentwood Police Department are on the case. The officials have located the stolen car but are still working on locating the suspected carjacker. They are asking the public to come forward with any information regarding the thief.
As for the bus drivers, they are being recognized for their quick thinking and heroic actions.
All three individuals were honored with certificates of recognition by Governor Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan, according to Kelloggsville Public Schools on Facebook.