Warren middle school student who stopped bus after driver passed out hailed as a hero

Louis Aguilar Mark Hicks
The Detroit News

Warren — The Warren seventh-grader who acted quickly and prevented a bus crash Wednesday afternoon stood quietly Thursday in a room full of reporters and Warren school officials who praised his actions and hailed him as a hero.

Dillon Reeves, 13, didn't speak at the press conference, but his actions on Wednesday spoke for themselves. The Warren Consolidated Schools student was one of 66 students on a bus whose driver suddenly lost consciousness, school officials said Thursday.

A video taken inside the bus was released Thursday. In the video, a driver radios to officials that she is not feeling well and needs to pull the bus over. Seconds later, she begins to visibly shake and lets go of the steering wheel as she slumps in her seat. Almost instantly, Dillon is seen running to the driver. He calmly takes hold of the steering wheel and begins to pump the brakes as he stands next to the driver. "Someone call 911," Dillon says. Many of the other students begin to scream, but Dillon keeps his composure.

"In my 35-plus years of education, this was an extraordinary act of courage and maturity," said Superintendent Robert Livernois. The Warren police and fire departments responded within minutes, Livernois said. The students were loaded onto another bus to head home. None of the students were injured.

The driver's name was not released Thursday. But the driver has no prior record of faulty driving or any other instances, Livernois said. The driver remains hospitalized, and the cause of her illness has not yet been determined. "We continue to provide support to this driver who's one of our best," Livernois said.

The driver was transporting students home from Carter Middle School and was traveling on Masonic Boulevard near Bunert Road. The incident happened a couple of blocks from Dillon's house, where his parents, Steve and Ireta Reeves, were home. They both heard the sirens from the police and fire trucks and Ireta, his stepmom, drove to the scene.

Steve got a call from a police officer. "My first response was, 'What the heck did he do?' And the officers said, 'No, your son is a hero!" Steve said. Dillon is normally quiet and astute who talks about becoming a police officer or a hockey player, his parents said.

Raelyn Reeves, Ireta Reeves, Dillion Reeves and Steve Reeves applaud Dillon during a Warren Consolidated Schools press conference on April 27, 2023, to recognize Dillon for his quick thinking in taking control of a bus Wednesday afternoon after the driver lost consciousness the day before.

In a Facebook post Wednesday, Warren City Councilman Jonathan Lafferty said the city is "very proud of our 7th Grade Hero."

Ireta Reeves credited a higher power. "Jesus had everything to do with the bravery and swift action Dillon displayed," Ireta said in a post Wednesday on Facebook.

"To Dillon, it’s just another day. He has no idea the amount of people who are so proud of him today."