Big Blue Bus Driver Saves Passenger's Life

Venice resident John Cole thanks Big Blue Bus driver Marzella Johnson at a Santa Monica City Council meeting.

   Venice resident John Cole was not feeling well when he boarded the Line 3 Santa Monica Bus. "I could see he wasn't his usual cheery self," explains Big Blue Bus driver Marzella Johnson, "he said he was on his way to see a doctor." Johnson, a fourteen-year Big Blue Bus veteran and former nurse, kept an eye on the regular rider. 
   As Cole's condition deteriorated, Johnson recognized the symptoms of a heart attack, and decided to pull the bus over and call for an ambulance.
   Cole was indeed having a heart attack, and, according to doctors at St. John's Hospital, would probably not have survived the long ride to the hospital, which included transferring to another bus.
   Cole publicly thanked Johnson at the June 20 meeting of the Santa Monica City Council. "I owe her my life," he said.