Monica, take the wheel: Harnett bus driver praised for poise in helping students caught in fire

Parents are calling a Harnett County Schools bus driver a hero.

That's because Monica Tyson-Crawford safely and quickly helped students get off her bus, moments before it caught fire.

WRAL News talked to her about just how close a call this was and how she was able to keep her cool in the middle of an emergency.

It takes the right kind of person to drive a school bus full of kids on a good day. And Tuesday, the ride for students to Benhaven Elementary was anything but good.

However, the person who was sitting in the driver’s seat was the right driver at the right place and the right time to get 38 kids off the bus and to safety.

Tyson-Crawford will tell you it’s something you train for.

"But you never imagine it’ll be you, never in a million years," she said.

Tuesday morning, Crawford was on her way to Benhaven Elementary, the route she drives every day, when she started to smell smoke.

"It wasn’t a lot at that time," she said. "Just a bit of smoke, enough to get the kids coughing."

Crawford had a choice: drive the final half-mile to Benhaven or pull over.

"I don’t think we would have made it," she said.

Tyson-Crawford stopped in just enough time to evacuate the bus.

When she stepped back on to grab her own bag, the flames had already started to spread.

"It was a lot of smoke," Tyson-Crawford said. "You could hear the horn going as the bus was burning. The leather from the seats was going up. The glass was breaking. So it was just really hard to see."

Tyson-Crawford said she kept her cool by relying on her training and giving clear instructions.

"They followed my directions to a T," she said. "I was so grateful that they had their listening ears on."

She’s said she’s still processing what happened. But that hasn’t kept her from getting back behind the wheel.

"Being there for her kids, in the good times and bad," Tyson-Crawford said. "I actually drove my route yesterday afternoon. I stayed at work and I drove my route yesterday afternoon."

"It was emotional," she continued. "It was very emotional this morning. Just having to redo the same route again and getting to that spot where the smoke started. But my kids still needed to get to school. And I was here. And I’ll always be here."

Harnett County Schools said they’re bringing in a third-party investigator to determine the cause of the fire.

There were no known issues with the bus. Buses in their fleet are serviced at least once a month.