A quick thinking citizen rushed to the aid of children trapped inside an overturned school bus in Albuquerque, New Mexico, this week.
“It was pretty scary, a bus they were supposed to be safe in, someone hits it, and the bus tumbles over, and they don’t know what to do,” recalled Matthew Jenkins, who at the time was going to pick up his children who attend another school, KRQE reported Wednesday.
The school bus was carrying multiple students at the time of the crash, and afterwards several were transported to the hospital.
However, none of their injuries were life-threatening, according to officials.
In a social media post, the Albuquerque Police Department said a white Ford Mustang hit the bus’s passenger side, which made it flip over.
“At the time of the crash there were approximately 23 students on the bus. Seven children were transported to area hospitals to be medically checked,” the agency noted, adding two of the young people required surgery.
Community members said it was not uncommon to witness speeders in that area, and authorities noted the incident may have involved street racing.
Local resident Joanne Pacheco described what happened, adding, “It was very sad. These kids were crying, it was horrible.”
However, Jenkins knew exactly what to do and began helping the students out of the overturned bus to safety.
“Everyone was in shock. The kids were coming out of the bus going different places, they didn’t know what was going on, they were scared, they were calling their parents,” said Jenkins, who underwent emergency response training while in the National Guard.
On what appeared to be his social media profile, Jenkins listed himself as a motor mechanic for the Army National Guard who also works as a movie stunt performer.
Following the crash, an individual named Mario Perez was charged with two counts of great bodily harm by a vehicle, according to the KRQE report.
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