Man describes moments he stopped out-of-control Seattle bus

A week after stopping an out-of-control bus whose driver lost consciousness in Seattle’s Greenwood neighborhood, Ernie Makinson has the same response to all who label him a hero:

“Hogwash.”

According to Makinson, 64, “Somebody had to step up” when a 71-year-old King County Metro bus driver had a medical emergency Wednesday morning and started crashing into cars along Greenwood Avenue North.

Makinson rushed to the front of the bus, grabbed the wheel and slammed the brake, stopping the bus’s path of destruction near North 85th Street, about five blocks north of where it started. The final lurch pushed Makinson’s head and shoulders through the broken front windshield, breaking his glasses and sending his dentures flying.

In the frenzied two minutes it took to stop the vehicle, Makinson said his main concern was for the seniors and children he often sees walking in the neighborhood.

“I was just trying to stop the carnage and stay on my feet,” Makinson said in an interview Thursday. “I’m just a dude trying to get by.”

The driver was taken to a hospital and is in stable condition, King County Metro spokesperson Jeff Switzer said Thursday.

For Makinson, who was treated at Harborview Medical Center, recovery has been a challenge.

Talking and seeing are difficult without glasses and dentures, which Makinson said he hasn’t been able to replace. He needs a cane to walk, and nerve damage sends shooting pain down his legs and left arm. Unable to get painting jobs or pay rent after the crash, Makinson said he lost his housing and has been staying at a Sodo neighborhood shelter.

But over the past week, dozens of strangers have reached out to thank Makinson and help him get back on his feet. A Seattle police officer at the scene helped him create a CashApp account to accept donations, and another person helped him set up an online fundraiser this week that had raised more than $1,600 by Thursday afternoon.

The unexpected outpouring has felt “amazing,” Makinson said.

“They’re helping me, and I just want to say ‘Thank you.’ I mean it. Thank you,” he said. “It just proves that this country is a great country, that people reach out and help people they don’t even know.”

Makinson boarded the Route 5 bus shortly before 11 a.m. to travel to the Greenwood Senior Center for lunch, as he would any Wednesday. He had just picked up $350 in cash from his last painting job, which he said would go toward paying rent to sleep on a man’s couch in the Chinatown Industrial District neighborhood.

Makinson was listening to music and sitting in his usual seat on the back of the bus as it traveled north on Greenwood Avenue when “all of a sudden – bam.” He stood up to see what happened when the bus struck another car, throwing him against a pole.

Passengers aboard the bus started screaming at the driver to stop, but the vehicle kept moving, crashing into another car, then another. Makinson charged forward, pushing through the other passengers until he reached the driver, whose head was down and foot was on the accelerator.

“I looked at him and he wasn’t there,” he said. “The guy was not responding.”

Makinson tried thumping on the driver’s chest to wake him up, using his other hand to grab the steering wheel. He squeezed his leg over the driver’s and kicked the man’s foot off the accelerator, then pressed down on the brake and steered hard toward the nearest curb.

When the bus stopped, Makinson said he unbuckled the driver and dragged him off his seat. The man landed on the floor of the bus and awoke with a gasp, taking more deep breaths as he regained consciousness.

Makinson said he walked back to his seat at the back of the bus, his body thrumming with adrenaline. His backpack, which he left closed, was open, and his $350 was gone. A fellow passenger approached him and said they had seen a man dart in through the bus’s back doors after it stopped, rifle through Makinson’s backpack and run off, he said.

“I started kind of feeling lost at that point,” he said. “Like, man, this is not going good.”

Mackinson didn’t realize how much pain he was in until he tried standing up again and felt his leg give out under him, he said.

Harborview staff treated Makinson for bruises to his head and spine and nerve damage, then released him the next morning, he said. Days later, his head is still foggy, his body hurts and adjusting to staying at the shelter has not been easy. He said he called King County Metro last week for help replacing his glasses, and a supervisor told him the agency wasn’t liable to do so, he said. He is now working with an attorney to file an injury claim against the transportation agency.

Despite those struggles, Makinson said he is “grateful at the same time” to have a safe place to stay and for the encouraging messages and donations he’s received so far.

“These nice people are reaching out and helping me,” he said. There are kind people in the area.

In a statement Thursday, Switzer said King County Metro is “grateful to Ernie, whose heroic action in stepping in to stop the bus prevented further tragedy.” The agency has communicated with Makinson’s attorney and had not yet received a claim by Thursday afternoon, he said.

“We need a claim form to make sure we understand the extent of what Ernie needs,” Switzer said. “We look forward to addressing his needs and supporting his recovery.”