Michael Fogerty, Director of Transportation, would like to honor Sysonna Allen, bus driver at the Transportation Department.
Ms. Allen was transporting her students to Rancho Viejo Middle School on the morning of October 18, 2016. As she turned off of Florida Avenue onto Cawston, she saw flames coming from underneath the bus driven by Ms. Dever. Ms. Allen immediately began to try to contact Ms. Dever via the two-way radio. She activated all emergency lights while slowing down to get next to Ms. Dever.
Once Ms. Dever’s bus was parked in front of Sysonna’s bus, she immediately sprung in to action assisting with the evacuation of students from Ms. Dever’s bus. She then got the fire extinguisher to utilize on the fire of the bus. All during this fast escalating emergency, Ms. Allen calmly and professionally communicated with her students to remain on the bus while she attended to the bus emergency.
Ms. Allen successfully utilized her experience and training to effectively ensure the safety of all the students during this emergency and should be highly commended for her quick action and thinking.