Bus driver went looking for rider, saved a life
After seven months, an Oakley man finally reunited with and thanked a Covington bus driver credited with saving his life.
William Rothell, 75, regularly caught the bus at West 5th and Philadelphia streets in Covington after working at a restaurant in MainStrasse Village. When he didn't appear at the bus stop one night in February, the bus driver found him nearby lying on the ground and called 911.
"If Mr. Rothell wasn't there when I arrived, I would wait a minute or two for him because I knew he would be there shortly," said Mike McCord, a bus driver with the Transit Authority of Northern Kentucky in a release from the Hyde Park Health Center.
McCord called 911 after Rothell experienced a medical emergency and emergency crews transported him to a local hospital, said Sarah Ostrow with the Hyde Park Health Center. Rothell was later moved to the health center, where he will live indefinitely, she said.
"Since Mr. Rothell arrived at Hyde Park Health Center, he has always reverted conversations back to 'the bus,' and a couple of weeks ago finally stated, 'I wish I could thank the bus driver. I wonder if he thinks of me?' ", said Susan Morris, registered nurse unit manager, in the release.
After weeks of searching, Morris found the bus driver and invited him to visit Rothell at the health center.
When McCord arrived for a visit in September, Rothell said "God has answered all my prayers." Rothell presented the bus driver with a certificate of gratitude and a gift bag the health center team helped put together, according to the release.
McCord had searched for Rothell at the local hospitals but could not locate him because he initially did not know his full name.
He brought Rothell a Louisville Cardinals calendar that he had planned to give him the day of the incident and plans to keep visiting Rothell at the health center, the release states.
According to the release, both men and some of the health center staff shed "tears of joy" during the long awaited reunion.