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FSU coach averts bus tragedy

By BRIAN LANDMAN

© St. Petersburg Times, published February 9, 2001

Assistant coach Chip Baker rescued the Florida State baseball team from a potential tragedy Thursday by taking the wheel of a speeding bus and steering it safely off a San Francisco highway after the driver collapsed from an apparent heart attack.

The driver, an employee of Penisula Charter Lines, received CPR on the scene but was dead upon arrival at Kaiser Permanente South San Francisco Medical Center, Brisbane fire Capt. Dave Rosenlund said. Authorities did not release the driver's name.

The Seminoles, in the bay area for a weekend series against Stanford, were not injured, but they were shaken.

"Chip Baker is a hero," coach Mike Martin said.

Baker, 42 and in his 16th season at FSU, was seated directly behind the driver, who was pointing out some of the sights to his passengers as the bus headed north on Highway 101 at about 70 mph shortly after 1 p.m. PST. Baker, who had turned to his right to see 3Com Park, looked back to his left and noticed the driver leaning to his right. "I thought he was trying to get something, but he never got up," Baker said.

Said Martin: "I saw him slumped to the right with his seat belt on and heard Chip say, "You all right up there?' ... I didn't know what I was going to do. It happened so fast. But Chip took total control of the situation. I mean total control."

Baker -- who had his 4-year-old daughter, Katie, in his lap -- quickly handed her to his wife, Julie, leapt to his feet and grabbed the wheel to try to keep the bus in its lane, the third of four.

"I was driving standing up," said Baker, who strained to work the clutch and the pedals as Martin moved the driver's foot off the gas.

"What made me relax was Chip saying (calmly), "Boys, you all need to help me get over. I ain't never driven one this old,' " said Martin, who checked the traffic, which was relatively light at that time of day, and told Baker it was okay to move to the right.

Said Baker: "I think I put the turn signal on. I don't know. I was just flipping buttons. I got us over off the road. I did find the parking break."

Not until the Seminoles left the bus did Baker realize exactly what had happened. "It was just reaction; there was no thinking whatsoever," he said. "We were very fortunate."

Even before Baker maneuvered the bus to safety, a couple of players used their cellular phones to call 911 to summon help for the driver. Baker said the driver was breathing when paramedics arrived. Martin led the players in a prayer for their safety and the recovery of the driver. "The Lord Jesus was right there on that bus with us, taking care of us," Martin said.

- Information from the Associated Press was used in this report.

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