BELLEVUE, Wash. — A bus driver from the Northshore School District had a near brush with death last week—and the whole thing was caught on camera.
Stewart O’Leary says he was heading southbound on I-405 in Bellevue when a piece of metal shot through the windshield, hitting him in the chest.
O’Leary was taking a girls’ basketball team from North Creek High School to a game at the time.
KIRO 7 spoke to him about what went through his mind in the moments after the impact.
“I just need to get the bus off the road safely. That was my priority. The kids on the bus are the priority,” he said.
O’Leary told KIRO 7 that the piece of metal hit him at about 60 miles per hour and landed in his lap.
In agony, he yelled for help and the coaches quickly jumped in.
“Helped me get the bus off the road and secured it, giving me first aid, calling 911,” he said. “They were awesome.”
Emergency crews arrived to take O’Leary to the hospital, but not without a memento.
“You know, it was kind of funny when I was leaving the bus I go ‘That’s coming with me, I’m taking that with me,’” he said.
O’Leary believes the object is a part - possibly a leaf spring - that came off another vehicle.
After the doctors took some tests and scans, he was cleared to go back to work.
“The staff here reached out and was concerned about me multiple times.” he said. “That was pretty special to me personally.”