School bus crew saves woman from burning house [Video]

“I thank God that I was able to get the lady out of the house.” said Bobbie Wright, who spends most of her time helping people. She seats and watches over physically challenged kids on the school bus and when she and her co-worker passed by a home on fire, they had to help save a life.

“I told Bobbie, I said Bobbie she’s trying to get out, there’s someone trapped inside and then Bobbie said ‘Open the door, let me out’ and I opened the door and she RAN out.” said bus driver Stephanie Bayless.

Firefighters believe the fire probably started in the living room area where 65-year-old Jimmy Wayne McKnight was bedridden in a hospital bed.

His caregiver Louise Pinkston heard the smoke alarm and told firefighters what happened next. “She attempted to go to the living room area where Mr. McKnight was at and it’s my understanding at that point she could not get to him or get him out” said Horn Lake Fire Chief David Linville.

Pinkston’s attempts at putting out the fire also failed. The only thing she could do was escape.

When Firefighters arrived they found smoke pouring form over opening of the house, and flames shooting out the living room and kitchen windows.

Ms. Pinkston managed to get to the other end of the house and out a small bathroom window.

That’s when Wright and Bayless passed by, and jumped into action. “She was hollering and so she was trying to lift the window up but she couldn’t get it up so I lift the window up, pushed the window up and got her out the fire,” explained Wright.

Wright herself tried to put out the fire, first by breaking a front window with an landscape timber, then with a garden hose.

Ms. Pinkston suffered heavy smoke inhilation, singed hair and minor burns.

As to why she felt compelled to help, Wright says the answer is simple. “I would want someone to do that for me or do that for my family if something like that happened, so that’s what I did, I just react.” she smiled.

Read more and watch this story: School Bus Crew Saves Woman From Burning House

Photo: From Flickr user hotonpictures

Teen hero pulls victim from firey crash [Video]

When it comes to faith, Chase Duffell’s life is a testament.  But even years of believing could not have prepared the 17-year-old for what he faced one afternoon. 

 A truck pulled out in front of a school bus, just feet in front of him.  The teen knew he had to help.  “I jumped out, parked it at the church, and I came back and the whole driver’s side was in flames.  I couldn’t get to the driver’s door to unlock it,“ he says.  “So I went around to passenger’s side, he was unconscious laying down.“

  With the car on fire, and the victim bleeding inside, Duffell had to act quickly.  He used every inch of his six foot frame to pull the man to safety.

The rescue is all the more rewarding, because this is one teen who knows too much about life and death.  Less than two years ago, Chase was diagnosed with cancer. 

Now, Duffell’s family believes his dramatic rescue was meant to be.  “I thought, God you saved him.  You saved him so he could be used for somebody else’s life today.  That’s overwhelming,“ his mother Muffin says. 

Read more and watch that story: Teen Hero Pulls Victim From Firey Crash

Photo: Nathan Gray [IndependentMail.com]

Boy guides school bus after Mom gets sick [Video]

 It was 7 a.m. and cold, and Tonya Smithey had a bus load of school children.

Thankfully, her son was one of them.

It was the worst time to feel sick and light-headed, as Smithey was hauling around more than 60 children on a Bedford County school bus.

Her son, Hunter Smithey, was seated in his usual place 13 rows back, near enough to the school bus heater to keep warm but still close enough to notice when his mother motioned for him to come to the front of the bus because she needed help.

“So I called Hunter up here from the back, and I said ‘Baby, Mama don’t feel so good,’ and he said, ‘What’s wrong?’ And I said, ‘I don’t know; just hang with me,’” Smithey said.

She got worse, turning pale, even falling backward in her seat.

With the help of her son, she managed to first pull over to the side of the road.

Read more and watch that story: Boy Guides School Bus After Mom Gets Sick