HANCOCK COUNTY, MISSISSIPPI — Students aboard a Hancock Middle School bus prevented the vehicle from crashing on a four-lane highway in Hancock County, Mississippi, on Wednesday after the driver lost consciousness during an asthma attack. About 40 children were on board when the bus had just left the school.

Leah Taylor, the 46-year-old driver, reached for her medication but blacked out before getting it. Jackson Casnave, a 12-year-old sixth grader sitting directly behind Taylor, noticed the bus beginning to swerve, jumped up to steer and instructed others to call for help.

Darrius Clark, a 12-year-old sixth grader, hit the brakes. Casnave and Clark together maneuvered the bus onto a median and put it in park.

Kayleigh Clark, a 13-year-old eighth grader, ran from the back of the bus to the front and called 911. "I was scared, but also I had to help," she said.

Destiny Cornelius, a 15-year-old eighth grader, ran to help and saw that Taylor was holding a nebulizer. Cornelius administered Taylor's asthma medicine while McKenzy Finch, a 13-year-old sixth grader, held Taylor's head. Finch picked up Taylor's ringing phone and informed the district's transportation team of the incident.

Taylor has made a full recovery from her asthma attack. Casnave said, "I didn't have time to process my emotions. I just wanted to make sure that nobody got hurt."

The students were honored at a pep rally on Friday and will be treated to a lunch field trip next week at a restaurant of their choosing. Hancock Middle School principal Dr. Melissa Saucier said, "What they did took courage. They didn't wait for somebody to step in, they stepped up themselves, and that says a lot about their character."