By Zayin Allen

A middle school bus driver is being hailed as a hero after she guided students off a smoke-filled bus following a movie-like car crash on Friday in Georgia.

Shuronda Crawford-Richardson remembers every moment from the crash and how it impacted her to make a snap decision to save the lives of the children. From Richardson’s accounts, a pickup truck struck the school bus in which she was transporting three students on Friday. Richardson says that she remained calm, and her first and only instinct was to escort the young students off of the bus and into safety.

Photo Credit WGCL

In an interview with news reporters, Richardson had this to say about the ordeal: “All of them are my babies. I treat them like my own.” Richardson also went on to talk about the horrific events that transpired saying, “The bus actually went over. We thought it was going to roll, and I could only think about the children because I didn’t have time to even warn them or tell them that this was happening. It just happened.”

After Richardson realized that the bus was settled and was on the verge of being engulfed in flames she leaped into action. “I got up, checked on the kids again, and that’s when we noticed the smoke. I didn’t think it was that bad, but it just got worse,” she said.

Richardson along with a couple other onlookers stopped and aided the rescue. “I’m just grateful that things turned out as well as it did,” Richardson stated in her interview.

Richardson will be honored later on this week by the Douglas County school district. The above and beyond the call of duty actions she displayed merit an award.