COLORADO SPRINGS, COLO. -- A Colorado Springs high school student took over the wheel of a school bus Thursday morning and steered it to safety after the driver fell into the bus stairwell.

Colorado Springs Police officers did not release a lot of details but said the bus was on its way to Colorado Springs Early Colleges when the driver fell out of his seat in the area of Platte Avenue and Chelton Road in the city.

Colorado Springs Early Colleges is for high school students.

Jeremy Rice, the 14-year-old ninth grade student, grabbed the wheel and prevented a crash by pulling the emergency brake as instructed by the driver.

The bus, which was in the middle of a left-hand turn onto Platte from Chelton, began drifting into the dirt median and into oncoming traffic when the student stopped it.

"I didn't know what to do until I saw the semi but he didn't slow down, so I just ran up their and I acted," Jeremy Rice said.

Officers said the driver didn't know his seat belt became unbuckled when he reached for a trash can that tipped over during a turn. That's when he fell out of the seat and into the stairwell.

Rice has been called a hero after his quick thinking prevented what could have been a terrible accident.