I remember the days when you could rely on public transport. It was a routine way to get around a city. But things get a little complicated when the person behind the wheel of a multi-ton Metro bus filled with passengers suddenly has a medical emergency. That’s exactly what happened last week in the Greenwood neighborhood, and if it wasn’t for the quick thinking of one heroic passenger, it could have ended much worse.
Ernie Makinson was just trying to go about his day when his Metro bus suddenly turned into a careening battering ram. As the driver suffered a severe medical emergency, the heavy vehicle went out of control, pushing cars out of its way.
Makinson described the initial terrifying moments as the out-of-control bus began smashing into traffic, via Fox 13:
“I was going to the senior center up on 85th and we started banging into cars. I got tossed to the left, I got tossed to the right off my feet.”
Realizing the driver was incapacitated and staring blankly ahead unblinking, Makinson knew he had to act fast.
“There was no reaction,” Makinson continued.
Taking the Wheel Under Pressure
As other riders screamed in panic, Makinson pushed his way up the crashing bus, getting the controls and physically took over. Stopping a bus isn’t like hitting the brakes on a Honda Civic, especially while trying to aid an unresponsive driver.
“I was steering with one hand and I was pounding on his chest with the other hand… like that really hard,” Makinson explained.
He wasn’t able to get the driver to respond, so took action to bring the bus to a stop.
“I unbuckled him and I pulled him off the seat,” Makinson said.
He pulled the airbrake once sat in the drivers’ seat.
The Heartbreaking Aftermath
The impact of the crash was severe enough to send Makinson flying into the windshield.
“My shoulder and my head went through the front wind- what was left of the front window,” he said. “And I lost my choppers, my dentures, and my glasses got broke.”
Thankfully, his efforts to save the driver weren’t in vain. Makinson added that after pulling the driver to the floor, the man finally showed signs of life:
“When he hit the ground, he raised up like this and he took a… [gasps] real deep breath.”
However, no good deed goes unpunished. An opportunistic thief apparently used the chaos of the crash to rummage through Makinson’s belongings while he was saving the bus.
“When I hobbled back to the back, my backpack was open,” Makinson continued.
The thief made off with Makinson’s rent money. Despite losing his money, breaking his glasses, and sustaining his own injuries, he still remained a hero in the way he acted after the incident. He is currently staying at the William Booth Center and, with the help of a local police officer, has set up a CashApp account ($MakinsonMakinson) to accept donations to get back on his feet.
When asked about stepping up to the plate, his reasoning was sincere:
“I’d rather get hurt than see them get hurt.”
Metro Responds
According to a statement released to Fox 13, Metro officials were deeply grateful for Makinson’s life-saving moves here. The driver is in stable condition and recovering. Metro is also actively reaching out to Makinson to connect him with their injury and damage claims team.
While we cover a lot of wild dashcam crashes and out-of-control vehicles, it’s rare to see a passenger step up to wrangle a heavy-duty runaway bus with this level of bravery. Ernie Makinson is the definition of a hero.
