Security footage released from the scene of a school bus rollover in Toronto shows the desperate moment when a construction worker climbed into the vehicle to rescue the five special-needs children trapped inside.
The school bus was flipped onto its side early Wednesday after a T-bone collision with a SUV at an intersection near the downtown core. Police say the children, who were between the ages of five and seven, suffered minor injuries and were mostly "shaken up."
In the security footage, construction worker Eddie Letitchever can be seen opening the back door of the bus and climbing in to help the children inside. Another witness also helped with the rollover.
"The kids were crying, they were really stressed" Letitchever told CTV Toronto. He said the children were hanging down from their seatbelts, "but that's a good thing because that definitely saved them."
Letitchever and others helped the kids out of the bus and took them to a nearby art gallery, where they waited for first responders to arrive.
"They were just in shock," said Jane Roos, who runs the art gallery. She said her daughter helped calm them down. "My little girl gave them toys, and everybody started to play."
The school bus driver was taken to the hospital as a precaution, but had no visible injuries.
The 21-year-old driver of the SUV was not injured in the collision. She has been charged with one count of careless driving.
