A man stopped a runaway school bus with 19 kids aboard. He says the Qur’an and ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ helped him do it
His faith inspired him to act, but nobody could have scripted what happened next.
Ebro Ahmed was taking a break outside his family’s convenience store in Saint Paul, Minnesota, when he noticed a school bus rolling down the street with its doors open and warning lights flashing. CBS News reported that the driver appeared to be experiencing a medical emergency, and 19 students were still aboard. Ahmed had never driven a bus before, but he ran toward it, jumped inside, and tried to bring it to a stop.
The 27-year-old eventually managed to pull the emergency brake, preventing anyone from getting hurt. But when asked what helped him keep his head during the frightening ordeal, Ahmed pointed to two unexpected sources: a verse from the Qur’an about saving human life and the long-running medical drama Grey’s Anatomy.
Ahmed’s rescue was captured by surveillance cameras outside his family’s business. The footage has since spread online, drawing attention to the split-second decision that helped keep the children safe. It also gave Ahmed an opportunity to explain why he felt compelled to act.
He said ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ taught him to stay calm
Ahmed shared that he noticed something was wrong when the bus passed him with its doors open. After seeing that the driver appeared to be suffering a medical emergency, he sprinted after the moving vehicle and climbed aboard. His first instinct was to put the bus in park. But without experience operating a bus, he briefly shifted it into reverse by mistake. Realizing something was wrong, he put it in neutral and pulled the parking brake.
The children were frightened, with some crying and others reaching for their phones to call the police. Ahmed also tossed his phone and glasses to two students near the front so he could focus on stopping the vehicle.
He credited Grey’s Anatomy with helping him think through the situation rather than panic. The show may be fictional, but Ahmed said watching its doctors remain composed during emergencies had stuck with him. “In ‘Grey’s Anatomy,’ you never see doctors panic,” he said. “I know it is all acting and stuff, so I just knew to be calm and just think everything through.”
The medical drama has been on the air for more than two decades, long enough to see its 20th season come and go. For Ahmed, its calm-under-pressure doctors turned out to be a useful model.
Other bus emergencies have also been handled by quick-thinking bystanders. In Pennsylvania, two students were praised after their bus driver collapsed behind the wheel, forcing them to act before help arrived.
A Qur’an verse reminded him why he had to help
Ahmed also recalled a verse from the Qur’an stating that whoever saves one life is as though they have saved all of humanity. The idea came to mind as he decided to intervene. “In my religion, they say one life is the equivalent to the entire humanity… and if you save one person, it’s equivalent as if you saved the whole world. So that’s kind of what I live by and obviously, you know, that’s the reason why I hopped on that bus,” he told MPR News.
“I didn’t do it for me. It was selflessness in the name of God,” he said. For Ahmed, stepping in when the students and driver were in danger was his responsibility.
The school district confirmed that 19 students were aboard the bus during the emergency. None were injured, and another bus arrived to take the students home. The driver was taken to a hospital and later released to recover at home.
Ahmed’s actions have earned him widespread praise, including a $1,000 gift from local media personality and philanthropist Sheletta Brundidge. He has also said the attention means something beyond personal recognition: he hopes the response reflects positively on East African and Muslim communities.
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