Siena senior, driver help save life of shuttle bus driver in Colonie

LOUDONVILLE – Prince Asante is a senior at Siena College. He wants to be a doctor, and he’s already helped to save a life.

“That’s going to be one of my proudest moments in my life, so far,” he said.

Asante is a biology/pre-med major. He was dozing off on a shuttle bus Saturday, and woke up suddenly when the bus was swerving on Route 9 near 378 in Loudonville.

Yankee Trails operates a Siena shuttle to College Suites in Troy.

Veteran driver Mike Koch was training another driver.

“He noticed that her speech slurred, and she passed out at the wheel,” said Erin Duckett with Yankee Trails. “So he instantly got up and took control of the bus, pressed the emergency brake and was able to get the bus off safely to the side of the road.”

Another driver on the road – a good Samaritan – came on board, and Asante approached the driver.

“I checked the pulse in her neck, I did not get any pulse. I checked the pulse on her wrist, there was no pulse, and I realized that we have to do something fast before we lose this woman,” he said.

They got her off the bus, and did CPR until emergency workers arrived. NewsChannel 13 was told he is now stable at the hospital.

Koch even went to track down Prince at the dorm, full of praise.

“He just reacted without even thinking, and it’s amazing how many good people are in this world,” said Duckett.

Prince has dreams of becoming a surgeon, and this experience left a mark on him.

“I appreciate life, because I saw this woman laughing and being happy on the bus, and all of a sudden she wasn’t breathing, and that moment made me realize how precious life is,” he said.

One mystery is who was that good Samaritan, the outside driver who came onto the bus to help. The people involved would also like to thank her.

Prince is set to graduate from Siena on Sunday.