Dickson County driver ‘saved lives’ by evacuating 30+ children during school bus fire

DICKSON COUNTY, Tenn. (WKRN) — A Dickson County school bus driver is being called a hero after getting dozens of students to safety when his vehicle caught fire Wednesday.

According to a spokesperson for Dickson County Schools, Bus 5 caught fire at approximately 4:15 p.m. on Wednesday, Dec. 3. The incident happened along Highway 49 near Charlotte.

The bus was transporting children from Charlotte Elementary School, Charlotte Middle School, and Creek Wood High School. When the 54-year-old driver saw smoke coming from his dashboard, he pulled into an open parking lot at Ridge General Store and evacuated all 38 students.

Minutes later, the bus was completely engulfed in flames. Harpeth Ridge firefighters arrived at the scene shortly afterward to extinguish the blaze.

Meanwhile, a Dickson County Sheriff’s Office deputy went into the market, where a school official was coordinating with parents as they arrived to pick up their kids.

Dickson County Schools Director of Transportation Melissa Garton said Tammy Lindsey, an elementary field manager with the district’s Nutrition Services department who lives near the scene of the incident, saw the fire and stopped to help.

“Anybody injured?” the deputy asked Lindsey in the body camera footage.

“No, he got all of them off the bus, and when it first happened, of course, it was nothing like this because I drove by and saw it and it was just barely coming out the front, and this is what it’s engulfed to,” Lindsey replied.

The deputy asked if anyone needed medical attention, but the school official said no.

According to Garton, a heating motor for a defroster seems to be the leading cause of the fire.

Garton said the 54-year-old behind the wheel Wednesday had started training this summer and driving in September, marking his first year as a bus driver for the school district.

Dickson County Schools’ transportation director told News 2 that the driver and the children did bus evacuation drills just last month, which paid off. Garton said the training is realistic, using videos and even smoke on the buses to give drivers a sense how quickly it can all happen.

News 2 contacted Tennessee Highway Patrol, which is investigating the incident. THP Maj. Travis Plotzer said the bus that caught fire was inspected in late August.

According to Garton, the driver was using a spare bus since the normal bus was in the shop for repairs. The school district’s transportation director added that spare buses are inspected by the county, on average, every 10 days.