It was a typical Tuesday for Westridge bus students, having arrived promptly at the Los Feliz and Silverlake bus station to be taken to Westridge campus. Once departed, students took to their usual commute activity: reading, phone scrolling, listening to music. 20 minutes later and 15 minutes from school, the bus, carrying 21 students, was stranded on the side of the 134 freeway.

Michelle Zinzun, the bus driver, kept her cool after she heard the loud pop. The sound and situation rattled a few students. Micki M. ’28 said, “At first, I was just reading my book, and then I heard a really loud noise. I was a bit nervous. I texted my mom because I was unsure of what to do.”

“I was just scared that the bus was gonna explode,” said Fin C. ’26.

Ms. Zinzun promptly assured students that she was going to pull over to the side of the highway and call for maintenance. “I was a bit nervous, but I also trusted Michelle and honestly if we were to miss school we were going to miss school,” Madison M. ’26 admitted.

As the bus pulled over to the emergency lane, a white pickup truck sped by and knocked the bus’s side window out, further escalating the situation and delaying students who ended up waiting an hour for highway patrol to arrive.

Micaela R. ’26 said, “I just wanted to go to school. I was really upset, just like my whole morning was ruined, and I missed Chemistry, and that’s a really important class for me.”

Once the police arrived, a different bus and bus driver were sent to take the students to school. Unfortunately, the new bus driver was unfamiliar with the Westridge Campus, detouring students in the wrong direction. Eventually, the bus driver got the correct directions, and students safely arrived at campus at approximately 9:45 AM  much to their relief. 

Late arrival inconveniences aside, the situation gave students one more thing to talk about. Julia M. ’30 said, “I’m probably just going to use [the bus incident] as a story to tell everyone.”

Danica Bourgault, Business Officer Coordinator and Westridge Bus Coordinator, expressed her concern for students’ safety. “I’ve been doing the bus for nine years…this is the first time something like this has happened, and I’m just thankful Michelle was the one that was the bus driver in charge of the kids,” Ms. Bourgault said. “They all knew her, trusted her, the parents trusted her, and we trusted her.”