‘Swift and decisive action’: School bus driver lauded for rescuing boy with autism

A school bus driver is being hailed as a hero for rescuing a nonverbal boy spotted wandering outdoors in Wheeling while inadequately dressed for the bitter cold.

First Student driver Freddy Leon was taking students to Holmes Middle School about 7:30 a.m. Tuesday when he saw the 12-year-old, who has autism, in the roadway near the Hunt Club Apartments. The boy wasn’t wearing pants or shoes, police said.

After delivering students to campus, Leon called Wheeling police about the unattended child and then returned to the area to look for him.

Leon spotted the boy and helped him onto the bus. Emergency personnel arrived, treated the boy for exposure and then took him to Endeavor Health Glenbrook Hospital in Glenview. He was treated and released, police said.

Police were able to quickly identify the boy because his parents enrolled him in a program for residents with disabilities called “Return Home Safe.” It gives police and firefighters information about residents who may have limited or no speech abilities and potentially could walk away from home.

The boy’s photograph, name and emergency contact information were in his file, enabling police to call his parents, who didn’t realize the boy had left home while they were asleep, Deputy Police Chief Al Steffen said.

The boy’s mother “was ecstatic” about his safe return, Steffen said.

Police Chief Jamie Dunne praised Leon for helping the boy.

“His swift and decisive action ensured the safety of a vulnerable child,” Dunne said in a news release. “Freddy’s actions made a critical difference, and this outcome could have been very different without his intervention.”

A First Student representative couldn’t be reached for comment.