A bus driver in California helped evacuate 23 students from a burning bus Friday morning, saving all of them from injury.
The driver was headed to Toro Canyon Middle School in Thermal, California, when she pulled over on the intersection between Pierce Street and Route 66. “This morning we got a call to dispatch at about 8:40 or so with the bus driver reporting smoke from the rear of the bus, shortly after she called in that there were flames and she evacuated the students.” Coachella Valley Unified School District (CVUSD) Budget Director Veronica Zepeda told KESQ News 3.
Zepeda credits the driver and the school’s training for keeping the children safe. “It just speaks to the priority of our students safety, and our drivers are trained to make sure they are able to respond to these types of situations and that’s exactly what happened today,” Zepeda said. She also said their bus drivers participate in 10 hours of training every year and the school runs drills with the students.
“We want to thank her actions. She acted swiftly and because of her actions she was able to think quickly and swiftly,” said CVUSD Budget Director Gustavo Paiz, according to WDAM7.
The students all made it safely to the school where they were greeted with a free breakfast and given access to emotional counseling, Zepeda told KESQ. There were no injuries reported.
The driver was very shaken up but Zepeda says “we made sure that she knew she did an amazing job, nobody was hurt this morning.”
The cause of the fire is still under investigation.