Coach Saves Squad by Bringing Team Bus Under Control : Hero: He takes the wheel after the driver collapses, rescuing the Capistrano Valley High School girls soccer team.

A school bus carrying a high school’s girls soccer squad skittered out of control Saturday on the Santa Ana Freeway after its driver lost consciousness, but a quick-thinking coach leaped from his seat, grabbed the wheel and managed to wrestle the vehicle under control.

Eight members of the Capistrano Valley High School team were aboard as the driver pitched to the floor. The bus began drifting across three freeway lanes before John Bolger, 54, a realtor who serves as coach, grabbed the wheel.

No cars hit the bus, and the only injuries reported were cuts to driver Richard Fisher’s head. He was being held at a hospital for observation. No cause has been fixed for his collapse.

The bus was returning from two games the soccer team played in Hacienda Heights. The episode unfolded as the bus headed south on the freeway about 2:30 p.m.

Bolger, a Mission Viejo resident, said he was sitting in the fourth row of the bus when he heard a loud noise, like a “bang.”

“I can only surmise what happened,” said Bolger, who speculated that the bus may have hit a concrete abutment on the right shoulder of the freeway north of Alton Parkway, where the roadway is being widened.

“I looked up and saw the driver just disappearing so fast that it appeared that he was catapulted . . . head first, without his arms” in front of him, Bolger said.

“He landed on bottom of the steps,” he said. “It was quite a fall.”

Almost without thinking, Bolger said, “I just jumped out of the chair and jumped in the driver’s seat,” even though he had never driven a bus before.

By the time Bolger had his hands on the wheel, the bus was coasting at 45 to 50 m.p.h. toward the concrete center divider.

“I really thought we were going to hit it, but we didn’t,” he said.

It was only after regaining control of the vehicle and steering it back onto the right shoulder that Bolger was able to turn his attention to Fisher, who was wedged head first in the well of the bus door.

“I looked down at the driver and my heart sank,” he said. “There was blood all over his body.”

Bolger stopped the bus and told team members to climb out the emergency rear door and signal for help while he tried to help Fisher.

At about the same time, a passing Orange County Fire Department engine company saw the girls signaling for help and stopped, according to Dave Wilson, a battalion chief.

Firefighters helped Fisher and called emergency medical personnel, who transported Fisher to Saddleback Memorial Medical Center in Laguna Hills. He was later transferred to Mission Hospital Regional Medical Center in Mission Viejo, where he was reported in stable condition.

After saying a prayer of thanks with team members, Bolger arranged for parents to pick them up at a nearby restaurant, while the CHP took charge of the damaged bus.

Bolger’s quick response almost didn’t happen. Just before the accident, he thought the eight team members clustered at the back of the school bus needed cheering up after splitting the two games.

After playing well and running their record to 3-0 in the first game, the team was beaten by a much stronger squad about lunchtime.

Many team members skipped the return bus ride to drive home with their parents. The ones who returned on the bus were demoralized, so Bolger walked to the back to tell the group how well they had played. When he thought he had bolstered their spirits, he returned to his seat.