Charles Albert Poland Jr., a 66-year-old male school bus driver, was killed on January 29, 2013, in Midland City, Alabama, during a heroic attempt to protect the children on his bus. On that Tuesday afternoon, a 65-year-old Vietnam veteran named Jimmy Lee Dykes boarded the Dale County school bus and demanded that Poland hand over two boys, aged six and eight. Poland refused to comply and stood in the aisle to block Dykes's path to the students.
The tense confrontation lasted for several minutes, with Dykes repeatedly threatening to kill Poland if he did not move.
While Poland confronted the gunman, students at the back of the bus utilized their emergency evacuation training and opened the rear exit to escape. The standoff ended tragically when Dykes shot Poland multiple times, killing him. After murdering the driver, Dykes grabbed a five-year-old boy from the front of the bus and took him to a homemade underground bunker on his rural property, initiating a nearly week-long hostage crisis. The remaining students on the bus had to pass by Poland's body as they exited through the front door.
The suspect, Jimmy Lee Dykes, was described by neighbors as a menacing and isolated individual with anti-government views. He had a criminal record that included a 1995 arrest for brandishing a gun and a 2000 arrest for marijuana possession. He was also known for his volatile behavior, such as beating a neighbor's dog to death and threatening children who came near his property. The day before the fatal incident, Dykes was scheduled to appear in court for a menacing case in which he allegedly fired a gun at his neighbors.
The hostage crisis concluded on February 4, 2013, when law enforcement agents breached the bunker, rescued the child, and killed Dykes. In the wake of his death, Charles Albert Poland Jr. was widely hailed as a hero for his selfless sacrifice. The Alabama Legislature passed a resolution to name a stretch of U.S. 231 in his honor, designating it the 'Charles 'Chuck' Albert Poland, Jr., Memorial Highway.'
