COBB COUNTY, Ga. — A Cobb County school bus driver is being recognized for going beyond his duties when he stopped to help a driver who found herself in a scary situation.
After dropping students off at school recently, the district said driver Rickey Cooper saw something that immediately made him stop his bus and run - an overturned car in a ditch off a road in Mableton.
"His immediate thought—and fear—was 'there are children in that car!'" the district said. "The thought of children, like the ones he cares for every day, being hurt or in need of help was enough to make the hero bus driver leap into action."
After parking the bus, the district said Cooper ran down the hill to the car, sliding through mud and bushes along the way. When he got to the car, he found a woman alone in the car, trapped because the door was jammed.
School officials said Cooper immediately worked to free the woman and managed to pull the door open and help her out of the car and back up the hill. He then waited with the woman until an emergency crew got there.
"Although the driver injured her arm in the crash, she was okay. She was rescued by a hero who drives a big yellow bus," the district said.
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But the district said Cooper wasn't the only bus driver who they said surpassed his duties; another passing bus driver saw Cooper's and stopped and called 911 and waited until emergency crews arrived while Cooper helped the hurt woman.
"When the two bus drivers saw the wrecked car, they could have kept driving or just reported it to dispatch," the district said. "Some may not have even seen a driver in distress, but then again not everyone goes through the training to be a bus driver in Cobb Schools."
According to the district, Cooper credited his training for knowing the right thing to do. He added that being a concerned dad guides him to do the right thing.
“Being a bus driver, you have to put kids first," Cooper said. "You are their first contact, before their teachers or principals see them."
But according to the district, this isn't the first time that Cooper has stepped up to help someone in need. Last fall, the district said he helped a Fulton County student who was lost and wandering along Mableton Parkway, giving the student his personal cell phone so the student could call his mother. He then stayed with him until help arrived.
"That’s the kind of person who has supported Cobb students for more than three years. He cares. His actions prove it," the district said, adding how the driver takes time to coach kids to focus on their school work and cheer them on the sidelines of games.
"When Ricky Cooper rolls up in his big yellow bus, students may smile and say, 'hi as they walk back to their seats. Their parents may wave, thankful for the man who keeps their kids safe every day on their way to school. Some may even call him a hero for his dedication to the more than 200 students he transports every day," the district said. "What they do not know is that Mr. Ricky Cooper really is a hero among us."
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