Officers, passerby stop runaway RCW school bus outside Granite Falls after driver suffers medical emergency

GRANITE FALLS — Law enforcement officers and a passerby helped stop what turned out to be a runaway school bus after the driver suffered a medical emergency.

The driver of a Renville County West school bus, which hit several vehicles and did not stop for law enforcement Wednesday, was found to have suffered a medical emergency while driving, according to a news release from the Granite Falls Police Department.

The bus driver, whose name has not been released, was taken to Granite Falls Hospital. No other injuries were reported. There were not any students or other passengers on the bus at the time, according to Granite Falls Police Chief Brian Struffert.

The bus had been scheduled to pick up students at Yellow Medicine East High School in Granite Falls, but the pickup was never made.

The Yellow Medicine County Sheriff's Office Dispatch Center began getting calls of a school bus driving in the wrong side of the road at approximately 12:04 p.m. Wednesday. According to the news release, the callers reported the bus had hit several cars on U.S. Highway 212 near the stoplights in Granite Falls and continued traveling westbound without stopping.

Granite Falls police officers and deputies from the Sheriff's Office were called to the accident scene and to try to stop the bus.

Deputies caught up with the bus a few miles outside Granite Falls near Yellow Medicine County Road 5 and Highway 212, but the bus did not pull over for law enforcement. The officers believed the driver of the bus could have been having a medical emergency, the release said.

A deputy pulled in front of the bus and performed a rolling roadblock. The deputy was able to slow the bus down enough for an unnamed passerby to jump out of his vehicle, reach into the bus and place the bus into park, the release said.

The bus driver was transported by Granite Falls Ambulance to Granite Falls Hospital. The condition of the driver is unknown at this time, the release said.

Three vehicles were damaged in the incident. Two were damaged in Granite Falls and a Sheriff's Office squad vehicle was damaged while slowing the bus down, the release said.

The Granite Falls Police Department and Yellow Medicine County Sheriff's Office were assisted by the Granite Falls Ambulance, Minnesota State Patrol and the Upper Sioux Community Police Department.