Posted on 09/24/2008 9:55:22 AM PDT by Between the Lines
CITRA, Fla. -- Four men made some heroic rescues when a Marion County school bus was engulfed in flames after being hit by a big rig on Tuesday.
The men jumped from their vehicles after the crash and said they just did what they had to do.
"If God would have taken me that day, it's my time to go. I'm not afraid to die. That's (why) God put us here to help our fellow man," James Horton said.
Horton was driving to Jacksonville on U.S. Highway 301, when he saw a big rig crash into the back of the bus, igniting a huge ball of fire.
"The bus was stopped. There was no reason for that semi to slam into the rear of it," Horton said.
Without hesitation, Horton said he pulled over and rushed into the burning bus. He said he didn't know what to expect.
"You couldn't tell nothing," Horton said. "You just grabbed, you felt. That gentleman over there was pulling them off and handing them to us."
Horton was one of four men who risked their lives to save the students on the bus. The men said they worked together to carry as many kids as possible to safety.
"If they wouldn't have done that, the outcome would have been even more tragic than it already is, and we really owe a great deal of debt to those men. They are heroes tonight," Marion County Fire Department spokeswoman Heather Danenhower said.
The four men said they don't want to be called heroes. They said they're normal people, who simply reacted in a time of crisis.
"I'm not a hero, just a human being, wanting to help other human beings," John Bishop said.
"I was just there. I would hope someone would do it for me," Matthew Eckenrode said.
"I don't want to be called a hero. I did what any other man who loves kids would do," Horton said.
Grief counselors will be at public schools across Marion County to help students deal with the death of one of their classmates.
God bless these guys!
RIP to the student who did not make it out. Prayers for the family.
God bless those men. What heroism!
These men will more then likely be arrested and charged with fire fighting without proper training and certificate. They will probably be sued as well by the parents of the children for taking to long to remove the children or else scratching or otherwise hurting them in the haste to get them off the bus.
They also probably violated some law when they mentioned God as a factor in their willingness and determination to risk their own lives to save the children.
wow.
Man, your cynicism bucket is overflowing...
and for your children.......
Not sure why you felt the need to throw such gloom on a wonderful account of true heroism. Try to be more positive!
Blessings on them.
If the press had been there they would have watched kids burn and then interviewed bystanders about how they felt about it.
?
http://www.news4jax.com/news/17545365/detail.html
God Bless these guys.
Dude.
A big rig driver who rear-ended a school bus, killing a 13-year-old girl and injuring eight other students, was on his cell phone before the crash, according to a Florida Highway Patrol report.According to the FHP report, Reinaldo Gonzalez, 30, of Orlando, told investigators that he was on the phone before his rig slammed into the bus, WJXT's Vickie Pierre reported on Wednesday.
its' understandable....maybe he's talkin' 'bout a Ambulance-chasin' lawyers....
its' the 5% who make the other 95% look bad....
IMHO, the "John Edwards" type 
Whorealdo would've had a special showing how his face got red from the flames and his clothes were all smoky.
We used to travel on that hwy between Georgia and Clearwater to see my in-laws.
It’s a 2 lane deathtrap. When you get behind a slow car or semi you better just stay in your lane and deal with it.
Truly sad about the circumsatnces but we know what these 4 men were capable of.
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