‘Not your typical grandmother’
Port Authority bus driver performs Heimlich maneuver on passenger
Port Authority bus driver Marina Davis describes herself as “not your typical grandmother.”
And that description remains true after she saved a passenger’s life by performing the Heimlich maneuver while on her Friday morning 61A bus route.
In the span of a red-light exchange at the intersection near Maple Avenue in Edgewood, Ms. Davis, 50, of West Mifflin, glanced in her rearview mirror and saw a woman pop up from her seat and clutch her throat. When she saw the woman move toward the front of the bus, pleading, “Help! Help! Help!” Ms. Davis pulled the emergency brake and sprung out of her seat to give the woman the Heimlich.
“I would hope that if it were me or one of my kids or someone that was close to me that somebody would see someone and help,” Ms. Davis said. “It was just an automatic for me.”
As a single mother of three girls and once a foster mom to six children, Ms. Davis said she was regularly trained to do CPR, which is how it became second nature for her.
“It was a joy to have kids coming into my house,” Ms. Davis said. “It was rewarding, but also heart-wrenching when they had to leave.”
Katie Stanko, another passenger on the bus, saw the whole ordeal. Ms. Stanko, 28, of Indiana, Pa., said it happened so quickly that people barely knew what was happening.
Afterward, Ms. Stanko said that Ms. Davis also offered the passenger a bottle of water.
“It was like another nice thing on top of saving her life,” Ms. Stanko said.
Moved by the bus driver’s actions, Ms. Stanko posted a tweet describing what happened.
“People like to go on social media to voice their complaints, but I think people should be recognized for their acts of kindness and being a hero,” Ms. Stanko said.
Port Authority spokesman Adam Brandolph said the authority is “extremely grateful” to Ms. Davis.
“Today happened to be Employee Appreciation Day, so it’s quite fitting that this operator had the ability to pull the bus safely over,” Mr. Brandolph said. “We think any of our operators would have done the same thing within that situation.”
Mr. Brandolph spoke to Ms. Davis after the incident and said she was “extremely glad she could help.”
No operators are trained or expected to do the Heimlich maneuver in a situation such as this, Mr. Brandolph said. Typically, bus drivers are advised to call dispatch on the radio or ask other passengers on the bus for help.
“Neither needed to happen here. The operator took matters into her own hands and saved the day,” Mr. Brandolph said. “It goes beyond the call of duty.”
As a bus driver, Ms. Davis said her work experiences “enlighten” her as she meets different people every day.
“It enlightens you to things that you wouldn’t normally see,” Ms. Davis said. “Because you go to work, you go home and you stay there. You don’t think about the other things that happen to other people out in the world.”
Ms. Davis says she often encounters passengers who are in need of assistance.
“I see enough, and sometimes you bring those emotions home,” she said. “Sometimes I come home and cry.”
Earlier in the week, Ms. Davis said she was on her 56 bus route when she saw a man who had fallen in the street; he appeared to be ailing. She said by the time she came back after she finished her rounds, she found out that the man had died from an overdose.
“Just to see that happen, and no one helped,” Ms. Davis said. “What if that was your child in distress?”
Ms. Davis has experienced loss before. One of her foster children, whom she adopted when she was 25, died three years ago.
Along with looking after five grandchildren and performing as a singer in her band, Taylor Made, Ms. Davis said she knows her profile doesn’t fit that of a stereotypical grandmother.
And Ms. Davis said she would perform the Heimlich maneuver again if needed — but perhaps would take a refresher course.
“It helps me to help other people,” Ms. Davis said.