JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — A Jacksonville Transportation Authority bus driver is being awarded and recognized after saving two young children from potential danger.
It all happened when the driver spotted two kids, ages 7 and 5, walking alone in the cold and at night alone in their pajamas. JTA Bus Operator Louis Rivas’ quick thinking helped them get home safely.
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“I noticed two kids just walking in the street and it was kind of late, so I was concerned because it was cold that day and they had no coats on, so that’s what made me look at them first,” Rivas said.
JTA uploaded security video from Jan. 19 when it happened onto their Twitter page. It shows a concerned Rivas stopping to check on them as they walked along Lem Turner Road.
“I safely pulled over, did what I was supposed to do near the bus, open the bus stop and asked them where they were going and where their parents were at,” he said.
“They told me they were going to their grandmother’s house and I said ‘where does your grandmother live?’ and they were like ‘uh, she lives down there somewhere,’ and they were speaking about where they were going from their point of view, so I was like, ‘okay, I don’t know where that is but I’ll keep you on the bus and keep you warm because it’s kind of cold right now.’”
Riva is a father of four, so not only did his parental instincts kick in, but his driver protocols too.
“Couldn’t move the bus at all, I had to keep them on the bus. I had to call dispatch and dispatch let me know what I had to do, they said JSO was en route, so waiting for JSO to come,” he said. “JSO came and I let them take over from there.”
From there, the kids stayed on the bus while it remained parked until police showed up to help them reunite with family.
Rivas said he later found out that the kids snuck out of the house after being put to bed by their parents.
“I found out later on the parents had put them to sleep but they snuck out, like I guess most kids do but not at that particular time when I was more concerned,” he said.
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Rivas was awarded and recognized for his efforts by the JTA Board of Directors and the CEO on Thursday.
However, Rivas said it was just another day on the job.
“You have to keep your eyes aware of everything that’s going on especially at nighttime I’m always scanning everything keeping my head on a swivel,” Rivas said. “We can never take anything for granted, we have to see something and say something, we act on it.”
Rivas told Action News Jax that it’s a dangerous world out there and encouraged anybody in that situation to be aware of their surroundings.
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