CHARLOTTE, N.C. — What was supposed to be an everyday bus ride to school quickly turned into panic for a group of Charlotte students Thursday.
It was a little after 8 a.m. when Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools bus 509 hit a car on Statesville Avenue just north of uptown and slammed into an apartment building. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police said a driver in a red car somehow hit the bus, forcing the driver off the road and into the building. Medic said there were no serious injuries reported in the crash despite almost the entire bus crashing into the building.
"It's a miracle," said a student named Marcos. "People could've died in there but knowing that everybody came out OK, that's great. It's a miracle."
Marcos said a group of students at the back of the bus immediately jumped up and forced the rear emergency door open and everyone on the bus got out safely.
"It was just natural instinct," Marcos said.
One parent said she couldn't believe what she saw when she arrived to pick up her son.
"He said hit a building, not through a building," she said. "There's a big difference. My first thought was, 'get to him now.'"
The woman said paramedics were making sure the students were OK. Medic's mass casualty bus was called to the scene so all of the students could be treated. CMS said 15 Ranson Middle School students were on the bus. Two students were taken to a hospital at their parents' request.
The woman's 12-year-old son Zyquan said he felt the first crash before the driver lost control.
"I felt the bus hit something and then it swerved around," he said. "Everyone started moving around and stuff. When it hit the apartment, I felt the bus shaking. I thought it was going to tip over."
Charlotte Fire Department evacuated the building as a precaution. CMPD said people inside the building ran outside after the crash and were not hurt. It is unclear how many people were inside the building at the time. The driver of the car that hit the bus was not hurt.
"I saw them running out with their dogs in their hands," Marcos said. "They were crying because their houses got destroyed."
