OKEECHOBEE — At the Okeechobee County School Board meeting on Tuesday, Dec. 9, many community members, businesses, staff and students were honored but only one person’s actions brought tears to Superintendent Dylan Tedders’ eyes and earned a standing ovation.

David Joyner, who is a bus driver for Okeechobee schools, was recognized Tuesday night for going above and beyond his duties when the bus he was driving was involved in an accident.

On Monday, Oct. 6, the bus David was driving carried students from Okeechobee High School and on his morning route he was involved in an accident that caused the bus to flip on its side. There were no reports of life-threatening injuries but several students were transported to the hospital out of an abundance of caution.

“The next special recognition is somebody that wants no recognition,” Superintendent Tedders said of David Joyner. “But we all felt we had to honor this person for some swift decision making and going above and beyond to make sure that students are safe.”

Tedders remembered getting the call that morning a little after 6 a.m., the call he says, “You never want to get. That there’s been an accident, the bus is on the side of the road and there are students on the bus. You never want to get that call.”

The superintendent’s eyes became teary when he explained that during the investigation the deputy noted that had David Joyner not reacted the way he did the accident could have been a lot worse. There are cameras on the buses and when watching the video the deputy noticed the actions that David had taken to keep the students safe and well even before the accident occurred. It was clear that the driver took all measures to maintain the safety of the students on board his bus.

“The sheriff’s department reached out to me and said, listen, your driver did everything above and beyond to keep students safe,” Tedders went on. The sheriff’s department also told Tedders that David was injured too but that when they checked on him all he cared about were the students on the bus.

When David came up to accept his certificate of recognition the board and public audience gave him a standing ovation. Superintendent Tedders thanked David and David humbly accepted his certificate.