Man saves bus full of passengers when driver passes out on M74 motorway

A man from Lanarkshire saved a bus full of passengers when the driver passed out behind on the wheel on the M74 – while travelling at 70mph.

Alex Brewer, a coach driver at Parks of Hamilton, and his wife were among 50 passengers traveling on the bus from South Lanarkshire to Sunderland as they made their way to a Pink concert on Saturday, June 10.

As the bus started to swerve across two lanes on the motorway near Moffat, Alex realised the driver had passed out and the vehicle was heading for an embankment while travelling at a speed of 70mph.

Passengers screamed in terror while the driver was slumped in his seat – before Alex stepped in and got behind the wheel.

The 40-year-old told STV News: “I was on my mobile phone when I heard the passenger next to me shout very loudly ‘where is he going’.

“The bus was swerving across two lanes and the hard shoulder, and was heading onto the grass verge towards an embankment.

“I jumped up and got the bus to a stop using the hand break gently so not to lock the coach up all while moving it towards the hard shoulder.

“Two nurses behind us jumped and started to give the driver medical treatment.

“I just tried to stay calm, I heard afterwards that people were screaming and things were flying everywhere, I don’t recall any of that. The main thing was getting the coach stopped safely.”

Police, medics, and an air ambulance met the passengers on the hard shoulder as they took the driver to hospital, where he is “recovering well”.

Officers asked Alex to get behind the wheel again as he took the passengers to Moffat Service Station alongside an escort before a replacement driver took them to the concert.

He added: “Thankfully the driver is home and getting the medical treatment he needs.

“Caledonian Travel and the coach company arranged a new driver and we went on to have a great night at Pink.”

A Caledonian Travel spokesperson said: “We very much appreciate the concerns expressed by our clients who were travelling to the Pink concert last weekend.

“The coach was brought safely to a standstill. We are most grateful for this precautionary assistance and we sincerely hope that our clients went on to enjoy the concert.

“We are happy to report that the driver is recovering well whilst currently undergoing medical examination.”