The baseball coach of a New Jersey high school stepped in to save his entire team on their way back from a road victory when the driver of the team bus lost consciousness and the vehicle began careening off the road. That’s impressive enough, but the coach’s modesty may be even more striking.
That’s because according to MyCentralJersey.com, Woodbridge (N.J.) Colonia High baseball coach Tom Hennessy insists that despite saving his team, he is in no way a hero. Rather, Hennessy insists he only did what anyone else would do.
“I don't think it's a big deal,” Hennessy told MyCentralJersey.com. “I don't call myself a hero, I call myself a teacher.”
Prep Rally will let you decide if Hennessy is a hero or not, but we’re inclined to give his heroism a nod, because of what he did, according to MyCentralJersey.com.
The Colonia baseball team was headed back to their Woodbridge home campus following a victory at North Brunswick (N.J.) High when the bus driver lost consciousness altogether. The bus began swerving while traveling approximately 30 miles-per-hour down the road. Hennessy, who was sitting in the front row, tapped the driver on the shoulder but noticed that he didn’t respond.
Immediately the coach sprung into action, leaping up from his seat and pushing down on the driver’s foot that was over the brake pedal until the bus stopped. He then immediately threw the bus into park, took the driver’s pulse and had his assistant coach dial 9-1-1.
Throughout the entire time while the team waiting for police and paramedics to show up, Hennessy continued to speak to the bus driver, even though he wasn’t responding. Eventually the driver awakened, with no recollection of leaving the field in the first place.
When an ambulance arrived the driver was checked and eventually deemed healthy. Meanwhile, the team got back home safe, and Hennessy immediately reported the incident to school officials, team parents and the bus company, following procedure right to the last letter.
As the incident has gained more attention, plenty have applauded Hennessy’s quick thinking. The Woodbridge Superintendent was one of them, calling his school’s baseball coach a hero. That isn’t affecting Hennessy, who continues to insist that he only did what anyone would have under the circumstances.
“Kids are the reason you teach and coach,” the coach told MyCentralJersey.com. … “I just reacted.”
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