Two elementary school pupils from Atkinson, New Hampshire  on their way home from school on a Tuesday afternoon, Nolan Barry, 8, and Thomas Mackeen, 9, along with three other children, were involved in an incident that took a turn for the worst on their trip home.

According to Atkinson’s Chief of Police Timothy Crowley, the bus driver who was responsible for picking up the pupils from Atkinson Academy had a medical emergency, and as a result, she fell to the ground immediately after leaving her seat. Even more concerning is the fact that this occurred while the bus was still moving.

Nolan, who is in the third grade, explains, “I assumed she was going to wake up and do the bus thing again, but she never woke up.” After seeing the bus driver trip and fall as she was coming to a halt, the two young boys made a beeline towards the front of the vehicle as soon as they could.

To everyone’s relief, Nolan engaged the emergency braking system, which brought the bus to a halt and turned on the flashing red lights.

However, there was another issue; the driver was still unconscious, and the children had no idea how to unlock the doors of the vehicle, so Thomas, who is in the fourth grade and the eldest kid on the bus, was aware that he needed to take responsibility because of his position.

Even though some of the children on board were just in first grade, he was able to settle them down and bring them back to where they were sitting without incident.

There was also a student named David Silva who was traveling on the bus. Fortunately, his father, Jesse Silva, was just waiting down by the road for his kid to be dropped off at the destination.

Jesse leaped into action and went toward the bus, where he saw the driver lying on the ground unconscious. Jesse then approached the man.

He was joined by Michelle Chouinard, a neighbor whose daughter was also a passenger on the bus; she lived close. During the time when Jesse was instructing the children to locate a lever, he dialed 911.

They were unable to, so he walked to vehicle and used his considerable strength to force open the emergency exit door. After what seemed like an eternity, the children were allowed to exit the vehicle, but they did so with fear and concern for the driver.

The motorist was transported to Parkland Medical Center as the first responders arrived on the scene. She was examined, and treatment was administered; nevertheless, the reason for her collapse is not yet known.

Because of the presence of mind shown by Nolan and Thomas, the situation might have been a lot more dangerous than it ended up being; as a result, the two lads are being lauded as heroes. But do they feel like heroes themselves, the two little boys? “Not like Superman hero. Not in that way,” Nolan said.