My son's bus ride to school yesterday turned into a dramatic comedy with an O. Henry twist.

The school district sent a text saying that his bus was running 10 to 15 minutes behind schedule, but I didn't pay much attention to it since it had arrived on time at our stop. The drama began at the next stop.

This is the version of events he relayed to me. The bus driver entered a small cul-de-sac to pick up a student in front of her house. She was the only student to board the bus at this stop. Alongside the road, a new car was parked by the curb. The bus driver was unable to maneuver the bus through the curve because of the car on one side and a large tree on the other.

"She was either going to hit the car or hit the tree," my son said.

The bus idled in the street for several minutes, unable to back up or move forward. Finally, a resident of the street walked out to ask the bus what was causing the delay.

The Good Samaritan was wearing a shirt and a towel wrapped around his waist. He was not wearing any pants. (I saw a video of this that had been shot by another student on the bus, of course.)

The driver explained her dilemma. The man with the towel around his waist started knocking on neighbor's doors trying to figure out whose car was blocking the street. This was around 8 a.m.

He was still wearing the shirt and towel as he went door-to-door.

The middle schoolers on the bus, who had been stuck on this road for the past 10 to 15 minutes, started chanting: Hit the car! Hit the car! Hit the car!

Finally, a student spoke up. It was the girl they had picked up in front of her house 15 minutes ago.

"Oh, that's my dad's new car," she said.