A bus driver was transported to the hospital after he ran his bus into a utility pole just off of St. Joseph Avenue a little after 4 p.m. Tuesday.

Bystanders told the St. Joseph Post they pulled the unconscious bus driver out of his vehicle to try and stabilize him in time for paramedics to make it on scene.

“We heard the crash and saw the power lines bouncing we came down to see what was going on and noticed it was a bus so me and my friend ran over here and somebody was prying the doors open,” said 25-year-old, bystander Jason Blanchard of St. Joseph. “We got up on the bus and I checked his pulse and we checked to make sure there were no kids on the bus and we got him out of the seat and laid him down and made sure his head was tilted to the side.”

28-Year-old Chris Kean of St. Joseph was with his friend Blanchard and said the driver’s foot was still on the accelerator when he helped Blanchard and another man pull the driver out of the smoking bus.

“One guy was trying to pry the doors open when I got enough room I jumped in,” said Kean. “We unbuckled him and laid him down in the isle.”

Blanchard said once they got the bus driver off of the bus he seemed to have regained consciousness for a little while.

St. Joseph Traffic Officer Scott Gary said the bus had been traveling Northbound on St. Joseph Avenue when he had a medical issue that caused him to drive into the utility pole.

“Thankfully there were no kids on the bus,” said Gary. “This could very easily have been worse.”

Gary said the bus driver was conscious when he was transported by ambulance to the hospital.

Traffic was diverted on St. Joseph Avenue from Karnes to Savannah Road, and power was cut off to many locations around the area due to the damage from the utility pole. Gary said Kansas City Power & Light is working to replace the pole and restore power. During that time the road will remain partially closed.