SEATTLE — “It was a nice sunny day. Wednesday. I was driving the 75.”
It was a typical day on a favorite route for Metro bus driver Eric Stark when someone ran across the street in front of his bus and fell.
“So, I rolled to a stop about probably five or six yards away, and I saw him roll over onto his back, and his arm flopped out to the side, and I saw what looked like a gun in his hand. The next thing I knew, he was standing up, and he was pointing a gun at the bus," Stark said.
"The man fired. I hear a pop, and then the glass on the windshield breaks and I felt something hit me in the chest. And then I remember – and...I'm not a curser – I swore out loud like expletive, this guy shot me. So of course, then I knew immediately it was [a gun]. So, I went down to the right to try to get out of his field of view as quickly as I could. And as I was going down, I watched the second shot come through the windshield about head high.”
Stark managed to put the 40-foot-long bus in reverse.
“And as a bus driver, I feel responsible for the safety of my passengers. So, as long as I can function and I still have control of this bus, I'm going to get us out of here,” he said.
He drove over speed bumps and around traffic circles backwards to get his passengers out of harm's way.
“This is an absolutely amazing act of heroism,” said Chief Harold Scoggins of the Seattle Fire Department. “I mean, driving, you know, a 40-foot bus backwards in the middle of a chaotic scene after being shot. I mean, you know who does that? No. So, Eric's actions were pretty incredible that afternoon.”
Stark doesn’t think of himself of as a hero.
“I think most people, certainly most bus drivers I know, would do whatever they could to do this," Stark said. "They’d do the same. They'd want to protect themselves, obviously, and their passengers and get out of there.”
Scoggins thinks differently.
“You know, it does my heart good to know that people will stand in the gap when needed," Scoggins said. "And, you know, it's important to note that that afternoon, Eric Stark, he really stood in the gap to save others. And we thank him for that.”
Luckily for everyone, Stark was there that day.
“I was in the wrong place at the right, wrong time, and I just happened to be able to do the right thing,” Stark said.
About the 2020 King County Red Cross Courage in Action Hero Award
"At the American Red Cross, we believe heroes emerge when one person puts aside their needs to help another. Recognizing our Heroes grew out of a desire to celebrate members of our community living our mission; to prevent and alleviate human suffering. Each year we honor individuals who have shown courage, dedication, and unselfish character by their acts of heroism in our community."
The next King County Heroes Breakfast is scheduled for March 19, 2021.
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