Quick-Thinking Bus Driver Avoids Running Over Woman Thrown From Motorcycle

A Texas woman is thanking her lucky stars after a fast-acting bus driver likely saved her life. Video from the incident shows how the Texan fell off of a motorcycle and nearly ended up underneath a bus in the adjacent lane. Officials are praising the bus driver for her alertness and quick reaction time.

The nearly tragic accident happened on October 21st in Hot Springs, Arkansas about an hour from the Capitol in Little Rock. Dashcam video from the front of the bus shows it traveling down Pike Ave in lane two at about 30 mph (48 km/h) just moments before the action. The motorcycle rider and his passenger, the woman from Texas, are in lane one driving just ahead of the bus.

As traffic in lane one slows for one car to turn left the motorcycle rider appears to not be paying attention. At the last second, he notices cars backing up and without time to stop safely, he simply jerks into lane two ahead of the bus. The violent action throws his passenger off of the bike and leaves her rolling on the road in lane two.

More: Motorcyclist Breaks Over 20 Bones In Horrific High Speed Crash

Somehow with almost no time to react and very little pavement between the bus and the thrown rider, Hot Springs Intracity Transit Driver Michelle Ramon manages to stop the bus. “It was scary because I didn’t think I had enough stopping distance. She fell off the bike and was lying across my lane and I had nowhere to go,” Ramon described to KARK. “Then I hit the brakes as hard as I could praying that I could stop in time and it was all in a split second.”

City Manager Bill Burrough commended Ms. Ramon for her decisive actions, saying, “You put your safety training into action, which led to the safety of our riders but also the motorcycle passenger.” The name of the motorcycle rider and the passenger were not released by authorities. The rider went to local hospital CHI St. Vincent and was later released.

Image Hot Springs Arkansas Gov.