Bus driver Damone Hudson was crossing the Main Street Bridge that covers the Great Miami River in downtown Dayton, Ohio, when he saw a woman standing on the other side of the guard rail. So he pulled his bus over and did what he could to urge the woman back to safety.
Surveillance footage shows Hudson opening the door and coaxing the woman away from the ledge. “'Why don't we come back over on the side of the rail,” he’s seen asking her. “Hey miss, why don't we come back on this side of the rail for me?” And then he adds, “'Ma'am, you look like you're having a bad day, you know. Can I give you a hug?”
Hudson kept talking to her until the police arrived, and then she stepped back from the ledge. He helped save this stranger’s life and he says the experience had a big effect on him. “Everyone's going through something,” he says. “Even if you are, just reach out and try to touch someone, even if it's in a small way.”