Guardian Angel on Wheels: METRO Bus Operator Helps Save Child from Traffic

In a selfless display of public service, METRO Bus Operator Vincent White emerged as a real-life hero, reacting swiftly to save a four-year-old girl from oncoming traffic.

White was navigating his bus along METRO’s 82 Westheimer route when he saw the child in the middle of the busy road. He says it was the scariest thing he’s ever seen in his life.

“Westheimer is interesting because most cars are traveling at a high rate of speed on it,” said White. "It’s difficult for an adult to cross that street, let alone a child.”

Without hesitation, White instinctively slammed on the brakes and flung open the bus’s doors, rushing to rescue the girl who had, at that point, made it across four lanes of traffic. As he ran to her, he was struck by the mirror of an oncoming car.

The driver did not stop, and thankfully, White was not seriously hurt, which he says makes the incident a blessing in disguise.

“It was interesting because once I got hit, traffic stopped. There happened to be an oncoming fire truck in an adjacent lane,” said White. “As soon as the fireman driving the truck saw me get hit, he threw on his lights, and everything stopped. Another driver realized what I was trying to get to and then jumped in to help.”

White later learned that the little girl had wandered away from her family while they were shopping at a nearby store. Soon after she was rescued, she was reunited with her frantic parents.

Overwhelmed with gratitude, the child's mother knelt before White. With tears streaming down her face, she expressed her heartfelt appreciation.

White assured her he was not a hero, attributing his actions and the outcome to a higher power.

“I was picked to be at the right place, at the right time,” he said.

White humbly insisted that he was just doing his job.

White’s story serves as a powerful reminder that even a single act of courage has the potential to make a world of difference.