Witnessing the news

Run, run, run.”  Standing on the side of a California freeway, I yell at the top of my lungs to run.  

The charter bus after the fire. 

Years of practice to calmly exit a bus during an emergency is tested.  The kids unload the bus in a calm and methodical manner.  Once they get off the bus, they hear the command to run.

As they exit the bus, they only look ahead.  It is dark and cars speed by.  I look back to notice the back of the bus is fully engulfed in flames.  Two adults remain in the bus, clearing the rows, ensuring all students are safe.

I count to 33 over and over.  Finally, every person is off the bus, the driver is on the verge of passing out.  We continue to follow the barrier wall to the next exit.  The fire is nearing the gas tanks and we fear an explosion.

Within minutes, emergency vehicles arrive.  Countless police officers, fire trucks, and paramedics arrive.  Soon enough, the film crew from a local news station.

After the near death experience, watching seven people leave in ambulances, and reassuring countless parents and kids, we awoke to our breaking news story. A local police officer saved us from the fire. It was definitely news to us.  We did not even recognize the officer receiving credit for his heroic actions.

http://abc7news.com/news/deputy-helps-save-teens-on-tour-bus-that-caught-fire/560653/

Don’t give me wrong, we are grateful for the first responders and their ability to make the situation safer. But, our hero is a bus driver named Ali.  The last man off of the bus, the man who crawled on his hands and knees to ensure all of our kids left the bus.  The man who remained conscious against all odds to clear us of imminent danger.  The man who never received any credit for his heroic actions.

So, how did this happen? How did they get the story so wrong? Well, I will leave that to the news agency to figure out.  But, how did it help our journalism program?  One of the journalism students survived this experience too. By the time we returned from break, people knew parts of the story.  As a class, we watched the news broadcast. After a few minutes of discussion, the young lady stood up and called it what it was.  Then, she went into full detail about the whole incident.

The remains of the axle and tire. 

What did my kids learn from this?  To check multiple sources.  Don’t take everything at face value. Sometimes, there is more to a story than what you first hear.  



Esther Bateson
Basha High School
Chandler, Arizona