It may sound cliche, but some incidents really make you want to believe that things do happen for a reason. For Milwaukee bus driver Cecilia Nation-Gardner, leaving her lay-over later than normal by a mere couple of minutes made a life-changing difference for a young boy. And she could never thank the heavens enough that she was at the right place at the right time.
As usual, Cecilia started her day just like any other. She was on duty as a bus driver, for the Milwaukee County Transit System, and had just gotten out from her layover when she pulled up at a bus stop at 35th and Vliet Streets.
It was at that moment that she saw someone move out of the corner of her eye.
Seeing that a red light was shown for pedestrians crossing, Cecilia knew that nobody should be crossing the street. So when she saw a young boy walk in the middle of the road, she knew she had to take immediate action.
Honking loudly, Cecilia tried to get the boy’s attention and make him stop in his tracks. It was also a warning to the other drivers who apparently did not stop and continued to roll by. Meanwhile, the boy seemed to be distracted and still kept on walking back and forth in the middle of a busy intersection.
Cecilia did not waste any time and urgently went down from her bus to get to the child.
She had passengers onboard but she had no intention of letting the boy roam around the street when vehicles were constantly driving by.
Any moment, a tragedy could occur and she wasn’t going to be able to live with herself if she witnessed anything happen to this little boy.
Luckily, Cecilia got to the boy in time and got him to follow her to the bus. The kid looked like he was lost and did not even appear to be seven years old. Cecilia carefully guided him to take his seat.
The child was obviously lost and needed to be handed to the authorities so he could be returned to his family.
She called the police and proceeded to get more information about the lost boy.
She tried to know his age but the boy seemed unaware of details about himself, making Cecilia suspect that the boy was disabled. Still, she made sure the boy was fine and that he did not sustain any injuries during the scary incident.
Soon, the police came and went to meet Cecilia and the young boy. They figured out that he was, in fact, disabled and had wandered off from school which led him to roam around the streets. It was a really fortunate turn of events that Cecilia was there at the exact moment that the child was walking along the intersection.
Eventually, the police were able to bring the boy back to his family. Cecilia, who is also a mother of three, was thankful that she was at the right place at that moment. It was like God wanted her to be there.
“I ended up leaving my lay-over two minutes [later] than normal. It was meant for me to be there. God does everything for a reason,” Cecilia said.
Over the past few years, the Milwaukee County Transit System has been able to save lost or missing children. Their bus drivers are the ones to be thanked for this amazing feat to rescue and bring families together. Cecilia’s act of heroism is the 10th time that MCTS was able to save a lost child.
Cecilia’s act of heroism is definitely an inspiring moment that we can all learn from. It goes to show us that kindness and genuine concern for others can change lives and make the world a better place.
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