Bus driver saves boy from being hit by speeding truck in Citrus County

INVERNESS, Fla. - When Becky Shaffer turns the key on her Citrus County school bus, it's more than just the start of her shift.

"I'm passionate about it because every day is a new thing," said Shaffer. "It's awesome to see the little kids get off the bus [and they say] 'I love you Ms. Becky!'"

She's been driving buses for Citrus County Schools for three years. As a mom herself, she knows when those kids step through her doors, those kids become hers until they walk into their school.

"They're like my kids that I just take home," said Shaffer.

That's why she's always on high alert, which saved a Citrus County student's life.

"I had looked in my mirrors to check the mirrors and I had seen a very large truck with a trailer full of tires come flying up," Shaffer remembered.

Surveillance video recorded on the bus shows a boy step off the bus, but hen Schaffer starts yelling and waving for him to get back inside.

Seconds later, a truck passes the bus, jumping the curb onto the sidewalk, narrowly missing the student. The truck sped away. 

"My only goal was to get this kid out of his way and on my bus," said Shaffer. "I'm thankful I was able to because that could have been his life."

On Tuesday, Shaffer was honored by the Citrus County School District for her quick-thinking and heroism.

She says she was only doing her job.　

"I'm not a hero, I'm doing what I love, and that makes it so much easier to take care of these kids," she said.

She now hopes this close call will serve as a message for drivers: "Slow down," pleaded Shaffer. "It's not worth it to go flying by an take a chance of risking my life, your life, and our kid's life."

Schaffer said the boy's mom has since thanked her for keeping her son safe.