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Pregnant driver saves students from burning school bus in Milwaukee

Imunek Williams says she was the driver and had more than 30 students on board right before the fire. "I just feel like I had to stay calm like it with my job to stay calm."
Posted at 3:40 PM, Jun 01, 2023
and last updated 2023-06-02 10:25:07-04

MILWAUKEE — We first told you about a dramatic school bus fire Wednesday morning.

The driver of that bus is now sharing what happened.

Striking video shows a school bus in Milwaukee up in flames.

Raw video: School bus goes up in flames

Imunek Williams says she was the driver and had more than 30 students on-board right before the fire.

"I just feel like I had to stay calm like it with my job to stay calm," said Williams.

Williams says her route on Wednesday started off normal when she noticed a strange odor and smoke growing.

She says they were just a few blocks from their destination, Milwaukee Academy of Science.

But Williams didn't want to wait too long to stop. She says she tried to use her radio to call dispatch.

Williams said, "I couldn't barely get what I was trying to say out because of the smoke was hitting me in the face in my eyes so I was just like OK forget the radio. Just got the kids off the bus."

"I think that's when it was like my mommy instincts kicked in really fast and I was just like OK come on mom let's do it, let's get off the bus," Williams said.

Williams, who is eight months pregnant, says she double-checked the bus to make sure no one was left behind.

"I was the last person off once I get off, I turned around and I just seen flames," said Williams. "I wanted to make sure that I was safe, baby was safe and you know if it was my kid on the bus I would've wanted one of the bus drivers to act the same way that I did."

Williams suffered smoke inhalation but is doing fine.

She trained for emergencies on the job but never thought she would need to put that practice into action.

"Everyone's okay so that just makes me happy," said Williams.

A day later, she says it's hard to believe what happened but it shows how fast life can change.

"It's a good feeling that we were actually able to come to school and come to work the next day," said Williams.


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