Ebro Ahmed, 27, says ABC’s long-running medical drama taught him to stay calm under pressure.
The St. Paul business student was on break from his shift at Ya Bricks Snacks and Tobacco, his family’s store, Monday afternoon when a Battle Creek Middle School bus rolled past with its doors hanging open and lights flashing erratically. Ahmed spotted the driver seizing at the wheel and gave chase on foot.
The bus was traveling roughly 10 mph when Ahmed caught up and leaped aboard. With no prior experience operating a bus, he fumbled through the controls before finding the right one. “I tried to put it in park,” he told KSTP. “I threw it in reverse by accident, and then I ended up getting it in neutral, pulled the parking brake.”
All 19 students aboard escaped injury, though Ahmed noted some were shaken. “[They were] crying with their phones out getting ready to call the police,” he said. He directed them to dial 911 while attempting to aid the stricken driver, who has not been publicly identified and was hospitalized before being released.
Ahmed’s unlikely preparation for the crisis came from hours watching fictional surgeons navigate catastrophes at Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital. “In ‘Grey’s Anatomy,’ you never see doctors panic,” he told KSTP. “I know it’s all acting and stuff, so I just knew to be calm and just think everything through.”
He expanded on the lesson to ABC News. “[It teaches] you about what to do in situations that you never could see yourself in,” he said. “So it’s just something like, you know, some tips and tricks that you could use for the rest of your life.”
The so-far unidentified driver suffered what Ahmed described as an obvious medical emergency. School district officials have not confirmed the driver’s specific condition. Ahmed felt no hesitation about intervening despite the risks. “If I was just to let him drive away, I would not be human,” he said.
His self-assessment remained modest even as praise poured in across social media platforms. “I really felt like it was my duty,” he said. “Also, too, it’s kids we’re talking about, you know. Even if I were to die, it would still be worth it.”
Some Reddit users have since called on Grey’s Anatomy producers to cast Ahmed in a guest role, though no official response from the show has been reported.
The incident occurred Monday in St. Paul, Minnesota.