By MADDY VITALE
Ocean City Intermediate School student Regan Capone was sitting in the back of her school bus Wednesday afternoon when she smelled smoke. Then she saw flames.
She called her family.
“My bus is on fire! My bus is on fire!” Regan, 13, shouted into the phone to her sister, Lily. “I don’t know where I am. I’m somewhere on the side of the highway.”
Regan and nine other students were heading back home to Sea Isle City around 2:30 p.m. when the bus caught fire near mile marker 20.6 of the Garden State Parkway in Upper Township, officials said.
“She said she could see flames,” Melissa Capone, Regan’s mother, said in an interview Thursday.
There were no injuries. All of the children and the Sheppard Bus Service driver, known as “Miss Linda,” made it out safely. Students later safely returned home, school officials said.
Melissa and Kevin Capone said that they are so grateful to the bus driver and all of the emergency personnel involved who made it possible for their daughter, and the other nine children, to make it off the bus safely.
“I can’t say enough about the emergency responders and how rapidly they reached the kids,” Melissa Capone said. “Miss Linda was so shaken up. All she kept saying was, ‘They are my kids, too.’”
Capone continued, “She is the true hero in this. She made sure every child was off of the bus and far enough away for the eventuality of it being fully engulfed.”
Although the bus driver, “Miss Linda” is being hailed a hero, she does not wish for any accolades at this time or to reveal her last name. An employee at Sheppard Bus Service said on the phone Thursday that the company will not release any information and that the driver’s privacy is being respected.
Ocean City Intermediate School Principal Mike Mattina sent a letter to parents about the fire. A portion of the letter was dedicated to recognizing the valiant efforts of the bus driver.
“We would also like to thank the Sheppard Bus driver, ‘Miss Linda,’ for her actions and concern for our students,” Mattina said. “She was a true hero and showed the utmost care for our students, making sure they were all safe after exiting the bus. As she said while speaking with the New Jersey State Police (Wednesday) afternoon, ‘These are my kids too.’”
On Thursday afternoon, the school district released a statement also commending the bus driver and the students for “quick thinking and smart response during the incident.”
“The students acted swiftly and calmly as they followed the driver’s directions to exit the bus as soon as a problem was identified. They should be commended, and we are thankful that everyone is safe,” the district said. “We would also like to recognize the Sheppard Bus driver for her actions and concern for our students. She was a true hero and showed the utmost care for our students, making sure they were all out of harm’s way after exiting the bus.”
The school district also emphasized its appreciation for the first responders “in Upper Township who answered the call for yesterday’s emergency — their dedication to our local communities is second to none.”
In the meantime, if any student is in need of counseling, counselors are available at the Intermediate School.
It took multiple agencies to fight the fire and ensure the children were safely headed back to their homes.
According to information posted on the New Jersey State Police Facebook page, the Seaville Fire and Rescue Company and Upper Township EMS Division responded to the fire. The Marmora Fire Department also arrived and provided water and manpower. It took about two hours to extinguish the blaze. The New Jersey Turnpike Authority assisted with traffic control.
The cause of the fire is under investigation by the Cape May County Fire Marshal’s Office and the New Jersey State Police.
