Heroes on Wheels: Melvin Riley

Melvin Riley was driving the Park & Ride 204 Spring bus on the HOV lane when a scream pieced the air.

A gentleman had suddenly suffered a seizure.

"My first thought was to get the bus off the HOV lane," recalls Riley, 54, of the March incident. "The reason being there was no way we could help him on the HOV. We had to get him off there. Then I notified dispatch to have someone meet us at the Park & Ride."

Riley asked dispatch to call an ambulance and meet the bus at the P&R lot.

Was he tempted to speed down the HOV lane?

"While driving a bus, you should never get in a hurry because speed is what causes accidents. And always think before you react. When you're on the HOV lane, you're going pretty swiftly, anyway. The main thing is safety."

When Riley arrived at the P&R lot 10 minutes later, the ambulance had not yet arrived.

"At that time, I got all my passengers off the bus. Two other ladies stayed with me and attended to the guy. I talked to him and kept him awake and tried to keep him conscious till the ambulance arrived," says Riley.

Riley said his passengers stayed calm in the midst of a life-threatening moment - and he did, too.

"I've been driving for so long. I'm just a laid-back person. I don't get excited that quick," says Riley, who has driven a bus for 19 years and works out of Fallbrook Bus Operating Facility.

When Riley isn't driving a bus and handling the day's crises, he enjoys sports - from basketball to baseball. "I watch them more than I play them," says the married father of three.