7th Grader Awarded For Service During Bemidji Bus Crash

A local seventh grader was honored for her quick thinking and bravery tonight after she played a major role in helping others during an October school bus crash.

Today at the Bemidji School Board meeting, 13-year-old Kylie Donat received an award from the Minnesota State Patrol as a thank you for her service during the crash. The incident happened in the morning on October 30th and left a few kids with bumps and bruises. Donat reportedly jumped into action immediately and started helping her fellow classmates, as well as Bemidji bus driver John Lund.

Donat says, “In that moment I was like, ‘wow, am I like dreaming? Is something weird going on?’ I got up and I was like ‘no, this is not a dream. This is real life. I’ve got to step up and I’ve got to do something.’ So I went first to check on my brothers and then I made sure that John was okay and that all the other kids were okay and I just wanted to make sure that everyone was okay because it just breaks my heart when no one is okay.”

Donat says the award was unexpected and she felt proud when she received it.