20 children evacuated from burning school bus

Thanks to quick actions taken by one heroic bus driver, 20 kids were saved on Monday when their school bus caught fire in Maryland.

Then, even though she thought they were all out, she ran BACK into the burning bus to make sure no one got left behind. Smith, a mother of a two children herself, managed to get all 20 children safely out of the burning bus – no injuries were reported. “Because whenever I drive any school, they’re my children until I drop them off to their biological parents”, she told WUSA.

The fire, which is believed to have originated from near one of the rear wheels, remains under investigation as of Wednesday morning. “I’m a mom. I just did what a mom would do”, Smith said in an interview with HLN. “I’m a mom, so I just did what a mom would do”. As for the bus, it sat there and burned, which was captured on video by a Branchville Volunteer Fire Company firefighter’s dashboard camera.

Reneita Smith was on her last route of the day when the bus started making noises. I have people calling me a hero …

Dashcam footage from another auto later emerged, showing the entire vehicle (which was at this point completely empty, thanks to Reneita) going up in huge flames with clouds of smoke billowing upwards. While police are still investigating the cause of the fire, parents can rest assured their children are safe in the hands of Reneita Smith.