SURRY COUNTY, Va. — A bus driver is being hailed a hero in Virginia after she managed to get all the kids off her school bus safely before the vehicle burst into flames.
A spokesperson for Surry County Schools told WAVY that the driver, Sondra Artis, noticed a warning light turn on while she was driving her regular route. Artis told the station she had also started to smell something, and the defroster had stopped working, causing her windows to fog.
Artis said when she realized something was wrong, she pulled into a nearby church parking lot and began helping students out of both the front and back doors, WTKR reported.
“I just had to get them off that bus. That’s what I was determined to do because when I saw that smoke and then with the smell,” Artis told WTKR. “I told the kids that, ‘You know, we practice in the beginning of the year, but this is going to be real, so I need you to be calm.’”
Artis has been a bus driver and substitute teacher for the last 18 years, WAVY reported.
Once everyone had gotten off the bus and onto a second bus, they began to pull away. It was only seconds later that the bus burst into flames, WAVY reported. “All I could say is, thank you, Jesus, my babies are okay and I’m OK,” Artis told WAVY.
Thank you, Ms. Sondra Artis, for your bravery and your commitment to your students! 💛 #Hero #SurryCounty
Posted by Delegate Emily Brewer, 64th District on Tuesday, March 29, 2022
“Our bus driver, she helped us and she’s a very good bus driver. We all love her. She deserves a reward,” Brandan Diggs, a middle school student who was on the bus, told WTKR.
At this point, it’s unclear what caused the bus to catch fire, WAVY reported.
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