Driver Saved Lives, CHP Says
YUBA CITY, Calif. (April 24, 2008) — On Tuesday, the California Highway Patrol recognized Marian Sandoval as State School Bus Driver of the year for a maneuver that may have saved the lives of 65 fourth grade students.
Last year, Sandoval was returning from a trip a field trip to Sacramento some 50 miles away when she rounded a corner and found a pickup truck barreling towards her in the wrong lane. The Yuba City Unified School District driver steered the bus onto the right shoulder and pulled the bus back onto the road, avoiding a collision.
In announcing the annual award, highway patrol officers commended Sandoval from her 26,000 peers statewide for her extraordinary skill and calm under pressure.
"Her actions in controlling the school bus and avoiding a collision no doubt saved lives," Cpt. J.R. Young wrote in a letter.
Meanwhile, the CHP's Southern California School Bus Driver of the Year Award went to Rosemary "Rosie" Shaw of Fountain Valley School District in Orange County. Tracie Morgan, the district's driver trainer, said he originally nominated Shaw for the longevity of her work as a special needs driver there since 1983.
"I was pretty amazed she had driven over 240,000 miles since she's worked here," Morgan said.
Shaw has driven more than 300,000 miles throughout her entire 32-year career.
