Authorities are investigating after a school bus carrying children in Tennessee suddenly caught fire.
The incident occurred on Wednesday, Dec. 3, at around 4:15 a.m., according to Fox affiliate WZTV, ABC affiliate WKRN and NBC affiliate WSMV, citing Dickson County School officials.
The Dickson County Sheriff’s Office (DCSO) told WSMV that the bus was traveling eastbound along Highway 49 with elementary school students on board when it began to smoke and then caught fire. The driver pulled over after noticing the smoke and quickly evacuated the children.
Dickson County School officials told WZTV and WKRN that all students were safely moved away from the bus. It is not yet clear how many children were on board at the time.
The DCSO told WSMV that the bus was soon fully engulfed in flames. The fire was later put out by the Believe Harpeth Ridge Volunteer Fire Department, which responded to the scene.
Dickson County Emergency Management Director Rob Fisher told WKRN that the bus was a total loss and confirmed that no one was injured.
One of the students on the bus — identified as Charlotte Elementary School first-grader Penelope Winters — told WKRN that she was the first to notice the flames. “I saved everyone because I told the bus driver [what] was happening,” she recalled.
Her sister, Asher Winters, a second-grader at the same school, added, “I was the first one to get off the bus because I was scared it was going to blow up.”
Meghan Griggs, a parent of one of the students, said that by the time she arrived, the bus was already badly damaged. Smoke was still coming from the vehicle, and photos she shared with WKRN show the roof and seats burned out as firefighters inspected the wreckage.
“My son remembered my phone number. He knew to call me. I didn’t answer the first time, and he kept calling me,” Griggs told the outlet. “Luckily, I am down the road, so it didn’t take me long to get there. My son handled it very well. He was calm, so I didn’t worry as much.”
According to the outlets, the DCSO has opened an investigation into what caused the fire. Officials have not yet responded to requests for additional comment.
