A Pace bus driver and Vietnam War veteran jumped into action following a fiery crash involving multiple vehicles in south suburban Glenwood Monday afternoon, rescuing his two passengers onboard.
Driver Arthur Jones had two passengers on his bus Monday afternoon when two cars collided at the intersection of 183rd Street and Halsted Street, causing one of the vehicles to crash into the bus Jones was driving, which was sitting at a stoplight.
“It wasn’t that bad. Looked at my passengers, my passengers were secure. There was no damage to the back of the bus, only the front of the bus where the car impacted,” Jones said.
Jones quickly realized afterwards that the crash ignited a fire, greatly heightening Jones’ concern regarding his passengers; a woman who relies on a walker and a young man who uses a motorized chair.
As the fire intensified, Jones said he received assistance from bystanders with evacuating the woman from the bus, though evacuating the man proved to be more challenging.
“I got on my hands and knees and started undoing the straps that strapped him in,” Jones said. “That was the most important thing I had to do was get him off, I got him off and that’s basically all I cared about.”
Glenwood firefighters arrived at the scene shortly thereafter and extinguished the fire, with no major injuries reported.
As for Jones, he said he leaned on his faith to help keep his two passengers safe.
“I’m glad it was me, and that, you know, in case I got hurt, I didn’t want anybody else to get hurt,” Jones said.
Jones said he has not been called to start driving again since the accident, but is hopeful he can return soon.
According to police, the crash remains under investigation.