AKRON -- Laura Zborowski is being called a hero after she sacrificed her life to save a student.
The 51-year-old school bus driver, was working on an evacuation drill with students outside the Middlebury Academy at the time of the accident.
Police say Laura pushed a 10-year-old girl out of the way to safety, when the bus started rolling backwards. Moments later, she was struck and later died at the hospital.
Long-time neighbor, Steven Mikel, says he's not surprised by her heroism. "Your character comes through when the chips are down. You react," Mikel told WKYC Channel 3's Hilary Golston. "You don't think I want to be around for my son."
Deanna Morrow, a long-time friend and neighbor says Laura leaves behind a 12-year-old son, Tyrese. Morrow said she had raised her son mostly as a single mother and had moved up to Ohio from Texas.
"Really he didn't have a lot of family," Morrow said. "It was just him and his mom for a long time, and then his dad finally came back in the picture. I'm hoping his dad's there for him now."
Morrow used to babysit Tyrese and reports her children grew up with the child. Morrow says both son and mother are good people.
Laura's former landlord spoke with Golston over the phone. She reports Laura moved from her previous home in the 2,000 block of Congo street to a new home she had recently purchased a few months back. She described Laura as a friend, wonderful mother and dog lover.
An elderly neighbor who knew Laura for years did not want to be identified, but said Laura and her son helped her a great deal. "I don't drive and she took me everywhere," the woman told Golston. "She would pick me up ... bring me home... Make sure I was ok... And her son was always a loving child."
Mikel says Laura loved her job as a bus driver and the children she drove.
A makeshift memorial has been set up outside of the accident site on Kent by strangers who have been touched by Laura's heroism.
Counseling services are available for the children at the school.
Follow WKYC's Hilary Golston on Twitter:@HilaryWKYC
