Heroes on Wheels: Quick Thinking Prevents HOV Tragedy

Two minutes after bus operator Jacqueline Cooper pulled out of the Townsen Park & Ride lot, her 17 years of bus driving skills were about to be tested in a life-or-death incident.

She had just loaded about 40 passengers on the 257 Townsen P & R when she noticed a motorcyclist trying to enter the HOV lane from the Park & Ride lot.

The entrance ramp has a gate with a mechanical arm that goes up for drivers. When it failed to work, the motorcyclist detoured through the Park & Ride lot, planning to use another ramp to enter the HOV lane - the same ramp cars and buses use.

Cooper saw him behind the bus on her left and knew he would try to pass her. As he passed, he hit a cement median from the top of the ramp.

 "He lost control of his motorcycle. He and his motorcycle fell right in front me in my lane. They were rolling and tumbling down the HOV lane - about 12 feet in front of me," recalls Cooper of the incident last September.

"Passengers were screaming. I had tunnel vision. All I could see was him and his motorcycle. All I could hear within my spirit was, ‘Don't hit him, don't kill him, don't run over him.' I didn't even hear the people screaming on the bus. I was deaf. I was focusing on the guy, making sure I was stopping the bus," says Cooper.

The motorcycle hit the retainer wall to the right, bounced off and hit the motorcyclist - and both continued to tumble down the HOV lane southbound.

About 10 to 15 seconds later, Cooper successfully brought the bus to a stop in a straight line, before reaching the breakdown lane. "The bus was sitting over the skid mark where the motorcycle had skidded," says Cooper.

Cooper says the motorcyclist was an experienced driver. She noticed that when he tumbled, he tumbled from shoulder to shoulder, never touching his face on the asphalt. He got up and tried to get out of harm's way, one pant leg ripped off, exposing a bloody leg. Two sheriff deputies who were passengers on Cooper's bus ran to help him.

Cooper's supervisor picked her up, and passengers transferred to another passing bus.  She and the motorcyclist never spoke to each other.

"I was shaken up. I was nervous. I couldn't drive for a while because it was in my head. I could see instant reply over and over," says Cooper.

The single mother says she became a bus driver because she grew tired of scrubbing down and changing gowns from her previous job as a certified phlebotomist - someone who draws blood - before she could hug her three young children.

During this near-miss last fall, everything she learned about safe driving came into play: aim high in steering, look ahead, be aware of surroundings.

"Things we were taught over the years from the safety department...all those principles fell right into place," says Cooper, a hero to her riders and the unnamed motorcylist.

By the next day, Cooper was back driving her shift. "I was still feeling somewhat nervous, but I had it under control," she says.

When she's not driving a bus and keeping her passengers safe, Cooper enjoys shopping and going to the movies.