Hero bus driver safely evacuates students from fire
A bus driver jumped into action Thursday morning when the vehicle burst into flames with more than a dozen middle school students on board.
Parents and faculty credited the quick action of the driver and annual bus evacuation drills for a happy outcome as all 15 students safely evacuated.
The fire on the bus to Monticello Middle School in the Cleveland Heights-University Heights City School District appears to have started behind a rear wheel, according to Cleveland ABC affiliate WEWS.
"There were a couple of booms," 13-year-old Britt Mosby said. "The bus driver said, ‘Everybody get off the bus.’ That’s when we ran from it and the bus just caught on fire. We were all scared. We called our parents. Luckily the bus driver got us off safely."
Neighbors took photos of the flames and thick smoke and told WEWS they heard a similar noise.
"I saw a little girl getting on the bus like I do every day. After she got on the bus, I heard a big boom. I looked out the window and I saw flames coming from the side of the bus,” Maureen Ottman said.
Another district vehicle arrived to transport the students to school.
"I’m highly grateful that everybody survived and was able to escape that," Antwone Jones, the parent of a Monticello seventh grade student, told WEWS.
Devin Morris Meadows, who had a 13-year-old son and nephew on the bus, told WEWS, "It was very comforting hearing the bus driver had it under control."
The Cleveland Heights Fire Department and Ohio State Highway Patrol are working in tandem to investigate the cause of the fire.
