Local bus driver helps unresponsive student

We often hear the phrase “Everyday heroes,” and we found one. A Bonneville County school bus driver who helped an unresponsive rider.

Larry Rutt was on his normal bus route when some students came to him.

“Most everyone was off except for three students and one of the last girls off the bus says there’s a girl back there that’s asleep,” says Rutt.

A few students tried to wake her up, but it didn’t work. Rutt pulled the bus over and went back there.

Luckily, Rutt has experience with medical training. With that training, Rutt was able to check for a pulse and make sure she was still breathing. He was able to instruct students what to look out for as he radioed for help.

“I feel fortunate because I’ve had a lot of medical experience in my careers. I was a corpsman in the Navy for 8 years, and then I got out and joined the sheriff’s department which I’m still in as a Deputy for the last 40 years and my full-time job is being a respiratory therapist for 40 years in homecare taking care of patients. So I’ve got a lot of medical behind me as an EMT and RT.”

And as for the girl…

“The next day I was pretty excited to see her get on the bus. She gave me a big hug. And I think that’s what makes it worth driving a bus.”