HOUSTON—Several eighth grade students sprang into action Thursday after their school bus crashed into a building in north Houston. They kicked open the emergency door, then pulled the unconscious bus driver and frightened younger children to safety.
The charter bus, which is owned by First Students, was transporting 37 children to KIPP 3D Academy and KIPP Dream Prep when it crashed on West Hardy at Crosstimbers around 7:15 a.m., according to Houston police.
The bus suddenly lost control, jumped a curb and crashed into a building, leaving many banged-up students scrambling for a way to get off.
"My cousin was sitting next to me and I just saw him start bleeding and his window popped, so I just kicked the door open to make sure we all got off safely," said eighth grader Rebecca Sanchez.
Two eighth-grade boys, Daniel Ortega and Francisco De La Cruz, heroically pulled the unconscious bus driver out of the rear-door emergency exit and then helped the other students in grades Pre-K4 through eighth grade off the bus.
"She crashed into the pole over there. I don’t know, she was driving too fast," said Sanchez, still unsure exactly how the bus crashed, but a motorist traveling on West Hardy during that time did see what happened.
"There was a vehicle that cut her off and she tried to avoid it, hit the curb and jumped into the building," said Efrain Campa. "I got out of my truck and rushed to the back to see if the kids were coming out and they just popped the door open and I was just helping them all get off the bus."
Campa said he didn’t think twice about rushing to help.
"My first parent’s instinct was to go help. Kids or no kids – go help," Campa said.
Another witness who spoke to the bus driver immediately following the crash said the bus driver said an erratic driver caused her to veer off the road.
"She said it was a black vehicle swerving in and out of traffic. When he caught in front of her, he clipped her and she tried to avoid him by moving away, and that’s how the bus went into the building," said Tangie Cater. Carter said while everyone else was focusing on the kids, she assisted the driver whose face was covered in blood. "She was pretty shaken up and busted up."
"I think it is just one of those accidents we just got to explore," said Chris Gonzales, KIPP’s director of public relations and marketing. "There was no reports of danger on the route or there were troubles with the road; no problems with the bus company or the driver. Honestly, they’ve been really great partners."
All of the children were checked out by emergency personnel on the scene, and all of the injuries seemed minor. One child complained of back pain and was transported to Memorial Hermann Northwest Hospital with a family member. He has since been released from the hospital. The bus driver was transported to Lyndon B. Johnson hospital for treatment.
HISD sent a bus to pick up the other students and take them to school.
KIPP expressed gratitude for the assistance from HISD.
"We also want to thank the Houston ISD Transportation department, which quickly offered to send personnel and buses to the scene to help. Because the feeders were shut down after the accident, by the time the HISD buses were able to arrive on the scene, KIPP had loaded children onto the contract buses and returned them to school. KIPP Houston truly values the camaraderie and support," said in a written statement.
Two-thirds of the kids have returned to school and there were counselors on hand.
