Article: The Children of THAT bus on the bridge

Morganthe

New member
I'm almost in tears after reading this.

Schoolchildren struggled to escape
NY TIMES.com


August 2, 2007
Schoolchildren Struggled to Escape By ANAHAD O’CONNOR

They all said the same thing: It was as if they were suddenly in a movie.

As an Interstate highway bridge that spanned the Mississippi River in downtown Minneapolis shook and began to crumble on Wednesday night, dozens of people in slow traffic were tossed into chaos — and immediately, an ordinary afternoon commute became a scene too surreal to fathom.

The survivors spoke of cars being tossed and thrown in every direction. They described a freefall of more than 50 feet that came without warning but seemed to last forever. And they spoke of desperate struggles to escape the cold, murky waters of the Mississippi — to swim to safety, to stay alive.

But for many survivors, one of the scariest sights of all was a yellow school bus sitting atop the rubble. Inside were 50 small children — some as young as 4 years old — who had been on their way to a swimming pool, but now were screaming and crying.

“They were all thinking they were going to die,” Jeremy Hernandez, a 20-year-old camp counselor who was on the bus, said at a televised news conference in Minneapolis this afternoon. “You could hear kids moaning and crying. Then they all just started screaming, ‘We’re going to go into the river, we’re going into the river.’ ”

As survivors in other cars that were scattered throughout the rubble climbed to safety, the 50 children and their counselors realized that they were trapped inside their bus, which was wedged against an edge of the bridge with the main entrance blocked. Even after the bridge completely collapsed, it appeared to those on the bus that the worst was not over. They could feel the bus beginning to slide down the bridge, edging closer and closer to the water.

Soon they realized there was only one quick way to get out: through an escape door in the back.

“At that point I just jumped out of my seat and ran to the back and kicked out the door,” Mr. Hernandez said. “I could feel the bridge still shaking. Then people were running up to the bus. I just remember grabbing kids and putting them out, grabbing kids and putting them out.”

Children were strewn about the bus, many of them badly hurt and bleeding or complaining of chest pains and other injuries caused by being thrown against their seats. One child, Olivia Reynolds, 12 years old, said that as the bus dropped into a rapid freefall, all she could do was hold on as if she were on a roller coaster.

“I ducked down, and didn’t really move, but it was really jerky,” she said in an interview with Fox News today. “It was moving side to side. I was still in my seat sitting down. The other kids were screaming and yelling and crying. Some of them were hurt.”

Another student, Nina Jenkins, 12 years old, said that everyone on the bus was in a hurry to get out, worried that another crash or explosion — whatever had just hit them — was seconds away.

“A lot of people hurt their legs like I did, because they were jumping from a bus that was really high,” she said.

Even as they crawled through the small opening, many of the survivors did not know what to do.

“The kids didn’t want anybody to leave them,” Mr. Hernandez said. “They just didn’t want to let go of anyone. They wouldn’t believe they were safe until they saw their parents.”

Olivia’s father, Jay Reynolds, who was also interviewed on Fox News, said he raced to the scene after hearing from relatives that his daughter might have been on the bus. Just as he arrived at the river and realized the enormity of what happened, he said, his daughter called him from a friend’s cellphone, telling him that she — like everyone else that had been on the bus — was frightened but still alive.

“Just to hear her voice, even to cry and whimper, it was just a relief to know that she was ok,” he said. “Every possible thought was running through my head. Every possible feeling was running through me. To have the thought of losing the most precious and dear thing to me in my life — I just couldn’t fathom losing the thing that I love the most.”
 
ADS

Tiffanie

New member
Everytime I see the picture of that bus my heart just drops. Those poor kids. I'm so happy they are all alive and ok.
 

southpawboston

New member
well as a followup to the other thread about bus safety, i'd say this was a real-life example of how buses really *are* safe. i mean, 50 feet of freefall, full bus of kids, and only injuries... none too serious or life-threatning. that speaks volumes.
 

Morganthe

New member
well as a followup to the other thread about bus safety, i'd say this was a real-life example of how buses really *are* safe. i mean, 50 feet of freefall, full bus of kids, and only injuries... none too serious or life-threatning. that speaks volumes.

Honestly, I think the statement saying 50 feet of freefall referred to other survivors, not from the kids on the bus. Overall, the bridge was 60 feet above the river. You can see the tiny yellow bus at the far left of this photo behind the smoke.
02cnd-bridge.s2.jpg

Clearer here.
NYT2007080212013691C.jpg


So "ONLY" :rolleyes: 20-30 feet --- sliding downwards and then a short freefall drop to that next level.
They were so lucky not to go over that side of the bridge or be any closer when it collapsed so it had gone into the water. The younger children wouldn't have had a chance then :( The older ones, barely. :crying:
 
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Jeanum

Admin - CPS Technician Emeritus
Staff member
well as a followup to the other thread about bus safety, i'd say this was a real-life example of how buses really *are* safe. i mean, 50 feet of freefall, full bus of kids, and only injuries... none too serious or life-threatning. that speaks volumes.

:yeahthat: I'm shuddering at their whole harrowing experience but thank goodness they're relatively alright.
 

Morganthe

New member
Thanks Patriot, :thumbsup:
now I know why those children's legs were hurt from the long jump down. I hadn't seen it up close like that. Makes you wonder why they don't have on buses some sort of flip out ladder or inflatable slide as on an aircraft. That's a long way down for any child even without a steep incline. :(

In case you were curious, I selected the two photos because they showed the bus in relation to the entire scene and how far back it was to the river section.
 
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Patriot201

Car-Seat.org Ambassador
Sorry, I didn't mean to step on any toes. :eek:

I thought the pics you selected were great! :)

I just added the one so that there was just one more perspective. :)
 

Morganthe

New member
phhhht -- you know me by now, no toes stepped on at all, dagnabit! :p

just more perspective on a rotten situation. :(
 

amyg530

Active member
Makes you wonder why they don't have on buses some sort of flip out ladder or inflatable slide as on an aircraft. That's a long way down for any child even without a steep incline. :(

i'm guessing b/c its probably not something they though was needed, like i always thought the back door was so if the front was blocked b/c of a crash or fire they could still get out. not for jumping out like that. KWIM, i bet that this was kinda unexpected.
 

Simplysomething

New member
i'm guessing b/c its probably not something they though was needed, like i always thought the back door was so if the front was blocked b/c of a crash or fire they could still get out. not for jumping out like that.


FWIW, when I was in school we had bus drills--and it invovled going out both the front door and the back door. When we went out the back---we jumped out. Usually there was someone to help you, but you jumped out. Twice a year, we did those drills. And I know that my ds1 does them now.

Some of the buses have an emergency exit on the middle of the side too. I don't know how those exits function, as I never rode on a bus with them, and my sons buses for K and 1st grade were older and didn't have them.

But I can't even imagine what those children went through. Frankly, I don't want to. :(
 

amyg530

Active member
FWIW, when I was in school we had bus drills--and it invovled going out both the front door and the back door. When we went out the back---we jumped out. Usually there was someone to help you, but you jumped out. Twice a year, we did those drills. And I know that my ds1 does them now.

Some of the buses have an emergency exit on the middle of the side too. I don't know how those exits function, as I never rode on a bus with them, and my sons buses for K and 1st grade were older and didn't have them.

But I can't even imagine what those children went through. Frankly, I don't want to. :(

yeah we did those drills also, usually the 2 biggest guys got out first and helped everybody else jump out, but thats only like a 3 ft jump, right. the story sounded like they had to jump higher/further than that. of course i guess a 3 ft jump for a 4yo is a pretty big jump
 

strollerfreak

Senior Community Member
OMG...I don't watch the news so I hadn't seen any pictures or read any articles about this though I had heard it happened.

Brings tears to my eyes...I was involved in a bus crash when I was in 3rd grade...it was just a fender bender, but I remember how scared everyone was.

I totally can not believe how lucky those children were...:crying:
 

Jordynsmama

New member
Well thats why I would never do field trips...the lady I work for-her business is stationed in Minneapolis and she said she goes across that bridge whenever she goes on her business trips, which is once every 2 months or so :eek:
 

UlrikeDG

Admin - CPS Technician Emeritus
FWIW, when I was in school we had bus drills--and it invovled going out both the front door and the back door. When we went out the back---we jumped out. Usually there was someone to help you, but you jumped out. Twice a year, we did those drills. And I know that my ds1 does them now.

Yeah, the big thing that struck me about that article was the implication that no one on the bus even realized there were two exits at first. We did evacuation drills when I rode the bus, as well. The driver and the counselors should have been trained in that.

As for the jump, I think it was higher than a flat surface parking lot would have been, but it wasn't exactly 10' or anything. The counselor said, "I just remember grabbing kids and putting them out, grabbing kids and putting them out." "Putting" isn't the verb most people would use if there were a significant drop below that door.
 

UlrikeDG

Admin - CPS Technician Emeritus
The links to the individual pictures don't work. I think it's a Java thing. I did find a close-up of the back end of the bus, and the jump isn't really any farther than it would be on level ground.
 

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