WASHINGTON — Quick thinking by a Prince George’s County elementary school bus driver likely saved children’s lives after her yellow bus caught fire with 20 students aboard.
Reneita Smith was driving the students home from Glenarden Woods Elementary School Monday afternoon when she saw flames soon after a brake-light indicator lit up. Witnesses told NBC Washington they saw flames coming from the wheel area.
“Once I saw the fire, I opened my door, took off my seat belt, and got my babies off that bus,” Smith told NBC Washington.
Neighbors described seeing thick smoke, as fire engulfed two tires and eventually the entire bus.
Smith said once she got the students off the bus, neighbors brought the children to safe havens in backyards.
“I ran back onto the bus, to make sure that every seat was clear, as the bus in the back was on fire,” Smith said.
The Branchville Volunteer Fire Company & Rescue Squad extinguished the blaze.
Nobody was injured, but the bus was destroyed.
“I have people calling me a hero, but I’m just a mom,” said Smith, who has a 4-year-old child. “I’m not just holding this wheel; these are my babies.”
Watch video of the bus fire, taken by the Branchville Volunteer Fire Company & Rescue Squad:
