Middle school student credited with saving bus driver’s life

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    Preston (WFSB) — A young girl is being credited with saving the life of her bus driver last week.

A seventh-grade student at Preston Plains Schools, Ava Boenig, took charge when her bus driver, Randy Centeno, suddenly pulled the bus to an unscheduled stop.

He was having a medical emergency, so Boenig called 911.

“He stopped the bus, it wasn’t anybody’s stop. He was screaming in pain, ‘help me, help me, somebody call 911,’” Boenig said.

Boenig was on her morning bus ride last Thursday when Centeno suddenly pulled over and stopped near Mello Drive.

That’s when Boenig grabbed her cell phone and called 911.

“She actually remained very calm throughout the whole call. She did a really good job, you could hear the background noise of the upset students and the bus driver obviously in distress,” said Paula Smith, a Ledyard dispatcher.

Smith, a veteran dispatcher for the town for nearly 25 years, focused on getting critical details from Boenig.

When asked if the bus driver was able to talk to Boenig, she told the dispatcher, ‘no,’ and told the dispatcher his chest was really tight.

“She was able to take and tell us exactly where she was which was very important. I could also hear the bus driver yelling in the background,” Smith said.

Four minutes later, a driver trained as an EMT and Fire Chief Tom Casey arrived to help the driver.

Boenig’s mom Becky is a nurse and former school bus driver and says she’s extremely proud of her daughter.

For Boenig, someday she wants to be a state trooper and help people.

“Take charge, don’t fight about anything and just do what you need to do and stay calm,” Boenig said.

Channel 3 learned the bus driver is recovering and also proud of Boenig.

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