A school bus driver has been hailed a hero after she saved children from a fiery crash on Friday, Nov. 10, in Georgia.
The terrifying crash took place at the intersection of Old Alabama and Maxham roads, WSB-TV reported.
A pickup truck crashed into the school bus then caught on fire. Three students from Turner Middle School in Douglas County were on board, reports said.
Bus driver Shuronda Crawford-Richardson wasn’t shaken and remained calm, according to WSB-TV. The mother-of-three spoke to reporters about her experience.
“When he hit the bus, it was hard, the bus actually went over. We thought we were going to roll,” she said.
She added, “In an event like that, you don’t have a lot of time to work with. You can only go with what you’re taught, go do it, you know?”
The alarming moment was captured on video.
She described her actions when she noticed the bus was filling up with smoke.
“I got up, checked on the kids again, and that’s when we noticed that we seen smoke. I didn’t think it was that bad, but it just got worse,” she told CNN.
She has been hailed a hero for her quick thinking and helping to evacuate the middle school students. But she insists that the children were the real heroes.
“I’m not a hero, the babies are the heroes, honestly. They listened, they did what they’re supposed to do. And actually, there were some gentlemen, which pulled the guy out from under the truck, the bus that was there, they’re the heroes,” she said.
Crawford-Richardson has three children aged 21, 16, and 14 years old according to NBC Affliate 11 Alive. She said she treats her students “like her own.”
Reports said that the reason for the crash is still unknown, and it is unclear whether the truck driver will be charged.
