Coaches pray for and get a miracle

As the charter bus careened down Parleys Canyon, Layton Christian Academy head football coach Will Hawes did the only two things he could do — support the bus driver and pray for a miracle.

Just after reaching Parleys Summit, the driver discovered the bus had no brakes. As the bus gained speed down the canyon road, he desperately pumped the emergency brake with one hand as he steered in and out of cars with the other hand, trying to avoid hitting them. All the while, coaches guided him and kept each other calm.

"(The driver) did an outstanding job controlling that bus through the downgrade of Parleys Canyon," said Hawes. "He steered that bus to safety, through traffic, the twists and turns, and when we finally stopped, the brakes, tires, rims and the back of the bus exploded in flames."

Hawes, six other coaches and 21 players were on the bus coming home from a game in Altamont shortly after midnight Friday when the vehicle's brakes failed just past Park City.

"We were fortunate that most of the students were asleep," he said. "We didn't have to deal with any panic. We were in a life-threatening situation, and the other coaches and I were just trying to coach the driver as he was swerving through the canyon with no brakes."

All of the adults were calm and focused as they discussed how to keep the sleeping teens safe.

"Every coach that was awake was praying," Hawes said. "I was talking to God just like I'm talking to you now. I can attest to that miracle — the driver had help guiding that bus down the canyon."

It was Hawes who suggested that driver Faavae Shane Asiata, 48, steer the speeding bus onto the Foothill off-ramp, which has a slight incline. According to the school's athletic trainer, who was on the bus, Hawes was equally impressive during the terrifying ordeal.

"The athletic trainer on the bus told me Will was the one who kind of suggested using Foothill to slow the bus down," said Layton Christian administrator Greg Miller. "The coach had great presence of mind to assess the situation and think through it."

The weather was clear and the traffic was light, and a few minutes into the situation, a man following the bus pulled up alongside the bus and signaled to Asiata.

"He told us we were smoking and the driver told him we didn't have brakes," Hawes said. "He called the authorities and then he followed us all the way down."

Police responded at some point and tried to help clear the way for the bus, which was rented by the private school for long bus rides.