Milwaukee school bus engulfed in flames after driver safely evacuates 37 students

MILWAUKEE — A school bus driver in Milwaukee safely evacuated 37 students from her bus just before it became engulfed in flames.

The bus was just blocks from their destination at the Milwaukee Academy of Science Wednesday morning when Imunek Williams smelled something burning, WISN-TV reported.

Williams had been driving the bus for two hours by then, and had kindergartners to high schoolers onboard. She initially thought the smell was coming from another vehicle.

“But then as I started to drive more, the smell and the smoke started to get thicker," she told the television station for a story Thursday.

“I just told the kids, ‘let’s get off,’" Williams said. "I evacuated the bus, made sure everyone was off, and made them line up against a gate. And as soon as we stepped off the bus, I turned around and the bus was just — in flames.”

Firefighters put out the blaze and Williams, who is due to give birth in August, was taken to a hospital as a precaution. What caused the bus to catch fire is being investigated.

“It just feels good that I was able to get them off and no one was hurt," she said. "That’s just my biggest concern because if it was my kid on the bus, I would want the bus driver to do the exact same thing.”