A Maryland bus driver has been hailed as a hero after managing to top the vehicle safely despite suffering a heart attack that killed him moments later. The selfless actions of Ruize Bell, 63, may have saved the lives of his passengers, something that was likely on his mind during the incident, his family and friends have said. Bell was a father of 10 who worked as a Ride On bus driver, and had been at the Maryland County Department of Transportation since 2012. He suffered a heart attack while driving through Gaithersburg on Wednesday. Speaking to WUSA, his friends and family said his actions were in-keeping with his character. “He was actually able to pull over and stop and park it safely,” Zhane Bell, one of the driver’s six daughters, told the outlet. “I was like, ‘Dang, that’s my dad.’ Because no matter what, he thought about everybody else before himself.” She added: “Just to see how everybody’s pouring in all the love and everything, calling him a hero is really, really warming inside. "It makes me really, really happy inside.” She added that her father had loved his job as a bus driver and meeting new people, and that it was “all he ever talked about.” “He loved driving the bus. That’s all he ever talked about was how many people he saw every day,” she said. “Just to see how everybody’s pouring in all the love and everything, calling him a hero, is really, really warming inside.” “It’s the toughest thing we’ll probably ever have to go through, but I know he’s still here and I know he would want us all to be strong.” Bell, who loved golf, grilling and was an avid Dallas Cowboys fan, was also remembered by other friends as a dedicated family man and member of the community. In a statement, Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich said Bell had prevented “what could have been an even greater tragedy.” “That kind of calm under pressure tells you a lot about the person he was,” he said. “He showed up every day for his job, for his riders and for his coworkers. People knew him for his humor, his kindness and the way he made the workday a little lighter — not because he had to, but because that’s who he was. “On behalf of Montgomery County, I want to extend my condolences to his wife, his children, his coworkers at MCDOT and everyone who had the privilege of knowing him. “I also want to thank the bus riders who tried to help him. His loss is a hard one, and he will be missed.”