Student Gets Detention for Heroism

15-year old Marina High School student Amanda Rouse received a weeklong detention for cutting classes after she prevented a bus from careening out of control. Rouse was punished for not following proper protocol for reporting an illness.

Rouse had fell ill on the way to school, so the bus driver agreed to take her home after the elementary school route was finished. Since she stayed on the bus, Rouse did not check in with her school and report that she was ill. After a sharp turn, the driver fell out of her seat and hit her head. The bus went out of control and slammed into two parked cars.

Acting quickly, Rouse jumped into the driver’s seat and hit the brakes, safely stopping the bus. The bus driver, Rouse, and the forty elementary school students on the bus were not injured.

Though her quick thinking likely saved lives, Rouse was still hit with a weeklong detention from “cutting classes” because she did not properly report she would not attend class due to her illness. Rouse failed to check into the office and get parental approval for not attending her classes.

Rouse must attend Saturday school as punishment for failing to call in sick that day. “She is in trouble with school because she made the wrong decision,” said Rouse’s grandmother, Sally Correll. “But I can’t help but believe that she was where God wanted her to be.”