A 56-year-old bus driver died after suffering a heart attack while driving a commuter bus carrying employees of Greece’s Public Power Corporation in the city of Ptolemaida. The incident occurred early Thursday morning as the bus was en route to a local power station.

According to witnesses, the driver suddenly became unwell, causing the vehicle to veer toward the side of the road. A calm and quick-acting passenger immediately grabbed the steering wheel and hit the brake, bringing the bus to a safe stop.

Medical teams performed CPR on the driver for 45 minutes but were unable to revive him.

One of the passengers, who takes the same bus daily to her job at the local power station, said the driver had appeared completely fine at the start of the shift. “Every day he was always well,” she said, describing how passengers realized something was wrong only when the bus hit the roadside. She added that a colleague stepped in to stop the vehicle after a woman seated in front called for help.

Another eyewitness said the passengers were fortunate the road was relatively empty at the time of the medical emergency, preventing what could have been a major accident. The driver, who was well-known to many of the employees he transported, leaves behind two daughters.