Woman saved student by steering coach to safety after driver suffered heart attack

A woman has told of the moment she heroically pulled a coach full of students to safety after their driver suffered a heart attack at the wheel on the M25.

Marie Therese Gumpert was accompanying 25 American exchange students from Heathrow Airport to London when the driver of their coach had an accident, causing the bus to veer across the road and collide with the central barrier.

Ms Gumpert, a student union officer at a London university, tried in vain to wake the driver before pulling the bus onto the hard shoulder and bringing it to a stop, miraculously avoiding a serious accident.

She described the incident to the BBC as follows: “I was working for an American university in London and on the morning of September 4, 2022, I headed to Heathrow Airport to pick up 25 students.

“After driving on the M25 for about 10 or 15 minutes, I felt the bus drifting sharply to the right.

“I looked down and noticed the driver slumped in his seat.

“We hit the center barrier and started skidding into the other three lanes. I ran to the front, straightened the steering wheel and started shaking the driver to wake him up.”

Ms. Gumpert recalled bags and books flying “to the front” of the bus, while the right rear window “exploded” when the bus crashed into the central barrier.

“It was just total chaos,” she said.

“As we were still travelling at motorway speed, I had to apply the brakes several times until the car finally slowed down,” she told the BBC.

“I pulled the bus onto the hard shoulder and eventually brought it to a stop.” The coach came to a stop on the hard shoulder near junction 15 of the M4 in Buckinghamshire, but no other vehicles were hit.

Several students carried the driver out of the bus and performed CPR, but were unable to save him. He reportedly suffered a heart attack while driving and unfortunately died at the scene of the accident.

Six passengers – four women in their late teens and two teenage girls – suffered minor injuries from broken windows when the coach struck the central barrier, but did not require hospital treatment.

“While I was talking to the police, I really realised how horrific this accident could have been: 25 students, an unresponsive driver and a bus travelling down the motorway at very high speed,” Ms Gumpert told the BBC.

“On the day of the accident, I didn't really feel brave. I felt like I just did what I had to do.”

Earlier this year, Gumpert, who is originally from Austria, received a Chief Constable award from Jason Hogg, the Chief Constable of Thames Valley Police, “for her quick response in bringing the vehicle to a safe stop and avoiding collisions with other vehicles”.

Detective Chief Inspector Michael Bettington, head of the police's traffic policing unit, said: “There is no doubt that Marie's quick thinking, actions and intervention, along with other passengers, contributed directly to the safe conclusion of this horrific incident. If Marie had not done what she did, I believe there would have been multiple casualties or worse. Her actions were selfless and commendable. I have no doubt that Marie saved everyone on board from serious injury. Thames Valley Police are incredibly grateful for what Marie did and I thank her for her support and public service. Our thoughts are also with the driver's family.”

Ms Gumpert described the award at the time as an “overwhelming honour”. “I am deeply honoured to receive this award, grateful for the community support and inspired by the resilience of the passengers,” she said.