Valerie Flanagan (Garden Grove Unified School District) |
WESTMINSTER -- A school bus driver is being hailed a hero for saving the life of a 4 year old boy who was wandering in traffic along a busy Orange County street.
Valerie Flanagan, who works for the Garden Grove Unified School District, says she was on her way home from her morning route on Tuesday when she noticed traffic slowing down near Beach Boulevard and Westminster Avenue.
At first she thought maybe an animal was in the road, then she saw a small child wandering in the far right lane of the six lane highway.
Flanagan, a bus driver for 23 years, says at least eight cars swerved around the child by the time she spotted him. She immediately pulled over, put on her hazard lights and jumped out of the bus.
Flanagan says she didn't want to chase after the child because she was afraid he would run away and into oncoming traffic, so she knelt down and persuaded him to cover over to her. She scooped him up and carried him over to the bus to safety.
Drivers started honking and shouting profanities at her because she was blocking the street, she said.
She called police and told them she had rescued the child but didn't see any adults nearby. Within 10 minutes a mother called to report her child missing, according to Westminster police Sgt. Dan Schoonmaker.
"Within two minutes, everyone was reunited," Schoonmaker said. "It was a happy ending."
Schoonmaker said the child apparently wandered off from the courtyard area near the Civic Center, which is around the corner from where the child was found. The mother had been frantically looking for him.
Flanagan says she doesn't feel like a hero. She's says she didn't even hesitate to do what she believes everyone else should have done.
Valerie Flanagan, who works for the Garden Grove Unified School District, says she was on her way home from her morning route on Tuesday when she noticed traffic slowing down near Beach Boulevard and Westminster Avenue.
At first she thought maybe an animal was in the road, then she saw a small child wandering in the far right lane of the six lane highway.
Flanagan, a bus driver for 23 years, says at least eight cars swerved around the child by the time she spotted him. She immediately pulled over, put on her hazard lights and jumped out of the bus.
Flanagan says she didn't want to chase after the child because she was afraid he would run away and into oncoming traffic, so she knelt down and persuaded him to cover over to her. She scooped him up and carried him over to the bus to safety.
Drivers started honking and shouting profanities at her because she was blocking the street, she said.
She called police and told them she had rescued the child but didn't see any adults nearby. Within 10 minutes a mother called to report her child missing, according to Westminster police Sgt. Dan Schoonmaker.
"Within two minutes, everyone was reunited," Schoonmaker said. "It was a happy ending."
Schoonmaker said the child apparently wandered off from the courtyard area near the Civic Center, which is around the corner from where the child was found. The mother had been frantically looking for him.
Flanagan says she doesn't feel like a hero. She's says she didn't even hesitate to do what she believes everyone else should have done.
