Bus Driver’s Life Changes Forever When Her Bus With 20 Kids Aboard Meets With An Unexpected Accident

 Life is tough and full of unexpected events each day. There are several challenges all through our lives that all of us face and try to overcome. But what would you do if you face a situation one day that might turn out to be the last day of your life? What would be more important for you, your own life or the responsibilities that are on you, and what if both of them are at stake?

Renita Smith was soon going to face a devastating accident that will change her life. And what will happen to her young children who have been waiting for their mother to return home from work?
The life of this single mother changed forever after the step that she took in an accident that occurred one day in September of 2016.

Renita Smith

Renita Smith is a single mother of two children, living in Upper Marlboro, Maryland, around 20 miles southeast of Washington DC. Renita started working as a school bus driver in 2014 and has been doing the same job since then to raise her kids. 

The Work

Smith picks up and drops off children from Prince George’s County Public School, Glenarden Wood’s Elementary School, and Robert Goddard Elementary School. Every day for the students of the bus is a perfectly fine day with a sweet bus driver that Smith is, but on a Monday of September 2016, these little students were going to face a tragic accident. 

A Trusted Driver

Every parent is scared and worried about sending their little one to school all alone by themselves without any guardian. But Renita Smith, being a mother herself was trusted upon by all the parents and indeed she took care of the little kids like they were her own children. She did not differentiate between anyone. 

More Than A Job

Renita works as a bus driver not just because she needs a job, but because she is passionate about driving the school bus. Renita enjoys meeting new people, learning new stories about what people experience in their lives and likes sharing new bonds with the children who board her bus and their parents.  

Deep Connection

Smith shares a deep connection with every child in her bus and she is not only aware but also genuinely feels that it is her responsibility to get them back to their homes respectively to their parents who wait for them the whole day. 

Worst Day

But things were going to get upside down and nothing will remain the same, neither for Renita nor for the twenty children in her bus. One evening Smith will face the worst day of her life that will change everything for her, without any prior notice or warning. Her already difficult life would get even more difficult that evening. 

Family

Smith has a teenage son and a young daughter and she has been raising both of them on her own. The only source of income has been the job of the school driver that Smith does. Their life revolves from paycheck to paycheck without anything left for savings or wishes to fulfill. It was a bare minimum kind of situation above which a tragedy was to follow. 

Evening Of September

While Smith reached the college park area of Maryland one evening to drop off the kids around 5 pm, she noticed something very weird on the dashboard of her bus. She was on her way, dropping off students for the day when she sensed trouble.

A Warning Sign

There was a warning sign on the dashboard which Smith could not understand. She thought that she would be able to reach the next drop off which was hardly a block or two away and then she could check what the problem was. But it was already too late for anything to be done. 

The Kids

There were twenty kids in the bus, all aged between 4 to 9 years and all of them could sense that something was wrong. The bus, on the other hand, could not even reach the next drop off and it stopped just in front of the stop signboard in the middle of the road. 

Something Scary

Renita knew that something was majorly wrong and she decided to inform the transportation manager at once. She picked up the radio receiver and as she was about to speak into it when she saw something in the rear-view mirror of the bus that scared her so much that she was unable to speak even a single word out from her mouth. 

The Trouble

Smith told Today, “When I picked up the radio and I looked through my side rear-view mirror, I saw the smoke”. It was after this that Renita’s mind stopped working altogether. It was a dreadful and serious situation and the responsibility of 20 students was on her and she was unable to make out as to what was even wrong. 

On Her Own

Renita was scared and zoned out when one kid came to her and said, “Ms. Bus Driver, the bus is smoking”, and that is when Renita came back to her senses and knew that she would herself have to take some quick step to save not just herself but everyone in the bus. 

A Plan

Renita quickly devised a plan. “I put the mic back down, undid my seat-belt, jumped up, got my babies and got off,” she told ABC News. Everything was going as planned but it would not be the same for long. 

Neighbors Came Out

As soon as neighbors saw what was happening, they came out for help. Some of them got a fire extinguisher and some got buckets of water, but it was all too late by then. The bus was covered with huge orange flames for which everything the people had got would be less and nobody could even think of going near the bus. 

 Without A Thought

But Renita was ignorant of the condition the bus was in. The only thought that struck her was that what if one of the children was still in the bus? And what she did next was going to alter everything. Nothing would be the same for her anymore. 

Motherly Instinct

Smith was a mother of two, so she knew that those twenty children were also her responsibility with which the parents had entrusted her. She ran towards the bus without a second thought, ignoring the condition of how the bus was covered in deadly flames and smoke. 

A Deep Breath

Renita went inside and checked every corner of the bus. When she was finally and fully satisfied that there was no child left inside, she took a deep breath. That is when she realized that she was standing in the middle of the bus that was all in flames.

In Danger

Smith then realized the intensity of the amount of danger that she had dragged herself into. She was right in the middle of flames and it seemed like she was in the mouth of death itself, and there seemed to be no way out. 

Difficult Exit

With each step that she tried to take towards the exit door, the flames grew bigger and scarier for her. But even in that situation Renita did not regret her decision of running back into the bus at all. She had no concern for herself. It was only the children whom she wanted to be safe. 

One Last Time

While the raging fire had covered the bus all over, Renita thought of her two kids for one last time who was alone at home and she knew that there was no one else to take care of them except for her. She saw the magnitude of danger around her and just closed her eyes. 

No Way Out

The situation was so dangerous that even though the neighbors who were watching everything wanted to help, they were unable to. “This fire was going too fast. I had a little extinguisher,” resident Lucy Kilin told the NBC Los Angeles on September 2016. “But it was too late. I couldn’t do anything.”

Struggling

Everyone was just staring at the flames go skywards and engulfing the bus within it. Even though the students were in a safe haven, the person who had saved them, Renita, was struggling inside the bus that was lost behind the smoke. 

A Phone Call

Renita finally somehow managed to come out of the bus only and only for the sake of her children. She was scared and said, “That’s what brought tears and emotions because the ‘what if…?’s And I didn’t know the fire was that bad until I watched the video.” But a phone call was on its way to change everything for Renita. 

Act Of Bravery

Smith was soon famous all over after the incident. Her act of bravery had caught everyone’s attention. But even though she was getting famous in the outward world, the personal life was still getting difficult for her. 

Vigilance

The means what Renita earned through driving the school bus was not enough to raise a teenage boy and a young girl in this time of high rate expenses. But there was somebody who was noticing everything from afar. 

The Call

The next call that Renita Smith received was neither a normal call nor was it from someone ordinary. Her bravery had caught a lot of eyes and she was in limelight everywhere for what she had done. 

An Invitation

Smith had been invited to none other than the Ellen De Genres show. Her brave actions were commendable and she deserved being on the show. But the surprise did not end there. Ellen had planned something for the brave mother which would change her life. 

Poor Conditions

Ellen had noticed in what conditions Smith had been living and was really upset to see someone so kind and courageous to be living so poorly herself. The conditions were so poor that Smith had been in a flight for the first time when she had to go to California for the show. 

A Gift

To improve Smith’s lifestyle a little, Ellen decided to do her part. She handed Smith a check for $20,000, a reward for her bravery. It was a gift from an image publishing firm named Shutterfly given through the Ellen show.

Praises Continue

The applauds for Smith’s bravery did not stop here. Glenarden Woods Elementary School named 28th September 2016 as ‘Renita Smith Day’ in honor of the bravery that she showed by going out of the way. Hundreds of students cheered for Smith and gave her countless thank-yous. 

Thankful

Each child that Smith had saved in the bus accident gave her a long-stemmed rose. Their parents were nothing less than being grateful for what Smith had done for them and their children. No one could have been a better care-taker for their children other than Smith. 

Another Honor

Even a plaque was unveiled in honor of Smith by Dr. Kevin Maxwell, CEO of the school district. He told NBC Washington, “I saw the smoke and the flames, and she showed her unthinking, unflinching courage.”

PG Fire Department

Not just that, Smith was also honored by college park city and also by the PGFD, when Smith did their work even better than they could have done it and took the responsibility on her shoulders in their absence, proving to be the strongest. 

Children’s Reaction

When Smith’s children saw the footage of the inferno of which their mother was a part, Smith told Today, “It scared them a little once they saw the pictures but they’ve been awesome – they are always supportive of their mom.” 

Nothing Extraordinary

Smith must have been a hero for everyone else, but for her, none of what all she did was extraordinary. “I’m a mom,” she said, “I did what a mom would do.” She never bragged about it and did not feel like a hero at all. 

Super-Mother

She has been the bravest a person can be and has shown the highest amount of courage by risking her own life. Smith even explained to DeGeneres, “My son, one of his friends texted him and [said], ‘Your mom is a hero!’ And [he said], ‘My mom has always been a hero.’”

Selfless

Even though Smith has so little for herself and her children, she did not think even for a second about giving away her own life if needed for the twenty kids that were in the bus as her responsibility. 

Biggest Treasure

She might not have anything materialistic to give away, but still what Renita did as a favor or as her responsibility was bigger than any treasure the students or their parents could have ever received. 

Down To Earth

What is commendable is how even after so many praises Smith still does not feel that she did something extraordinary. It was a responsibility for her and she was no hero according to her. She felt like she did what any human would have done by saving the children without any doubts. 

Rich Or Poor

People who have all the resources are the ones who are barely ever ready to help someone in need. And those who have nothing with them are the ones who are always readily available to help those in need, just like Renita. 

Parenthood

Smith understands the responsibility that is on her shoulder. It is not easy for parents to leave their kids and let them be alone in the outside world without their supervision. All the students are like her own children until the time she drops them home. 

Clear-Minded

Smith knew exactly what she had to do when she understood what the trouble was, and she was very clear about it. As she explained to ABC News, “When I’m driving them, you’re my children until I drop you off to your biological parents. I have to handle each child with care, as a mommy would her own, so that’s what I did. That’s what I hope any human being would do for any child.”

Valor

The council member and university professor Fazlul Kabir shared the bravery of Renita on Facebook, with praises for the lady. He added, “A big thank you to our school bus driver… who just saved 20 elementary school kids from a bus fire that completely destroyed the bus.” 

A Hero Every Day

Smith is a hero, not only for the twenty children whom she saved but also and more importantly for her own children, whom she loves dearly. She struggles each day with all her strength to give them the best life possible.