A Rhode Island city transit bus delivered its passengers a much wilder ride than it had planned for when an extra passenger—in the form of a deer—jumped into the bus through the windshield while the driver continued on route, apparently unfazed.
The incident happened shortly after 3 o’clock in the afternoon on Monday, the 10th of June. It was captured on video by cameras mounted within the vehicle by the RIPTA (the Rhode Island Public Transit Authority). The recording shows the deer as it jumps up from the street straight at the bus’s windshield. Christopher Durand, RIPTA’s interim CEO, told Fox News Digital that the bus was driving down Warwick Avenue in the City of Warwick, Rhode Island when the deer decided to board.
But the video also shows the driver calmly going on about his job until he could find a safe place to pull over and figure out what to do. Durand praised the driver for his competence and decisive actions. RIPTA bus driver Leocadio Hernandez, he said, is to be commended for an “exemplary” performance in a unique an unexpected situation. Hernandez displayed “exceptional” composure and alertness under pressure, and fulfilled his duty to the safety of his passengers. Durand went on to laud the dedication and professionalism of RIPTA drivers generally, and emphasize the Transit Authority’s commitment to community safety and the value of the high standards it demands of its employees.
Things could have been a lot worse. The deer came through the front of the bus inches from Hernandez, who narrowly escaped injury. He described the day as normal and uneventful up until the point the deer appeared in a shower of glass in the front of his bus. He said to reporters that he can only thank God that he’s alive—had the dear hit the driver’s side of the bus, he would have died.
The deer succumbed to its injuries, and did not survive the incident.