(CNN) After seeing a distressed woman standing on the ledge of a bridge, an Ohio bus driver acted swiftly to help rescue her.
Damone "D" Hudson was driving across the Main Street Bridge in Dayton last month when he spotted the woman.
He immediately stopped the bus and started talking with her, hoping to persuade her to come back on the other side of the rail.
"First thing I could think to say to her was, 'Ma'am you look like you're having a bad day. You know, can I give you a hug?' " Hudson told CNN affiliate WDTN this week.
Hudson said he gestured to a passerby to contact police as he chatted with the woman.
Within minutes a Dayton Police officer was on the scene and Hudson let police take over. The woman was eventually helped back over the railing to safety, officers said.
The incident occurred on February 16.
Hudson has been with Greater Dayton Regional Transit Authority for 24 years, but this was a first for him.
"I just hope that everyone that looks at this goes, 'Man, next time I see someone in distress or I see something, I'll stop,' " he told WDTN.
The RTA will honor Hudson at its next board meeting on March 7 for his compassion and quick thinking.
"I wasn't trying to be heroic, I just saw someone that looked like she was definitely in pain or trouble and I just wanted to make a connection," he said.