A tradie has been labeled a hero after rushing to help children escape a horror bus crash which left the driver dead.
The bus was carrying 32 students from Assumption College in Kilmore, an hour’s drive north of Melbourne, when it left Wandong Road and crashed into a tree shortly after 3.30pm on Wednesday.
Carpenter Colby Bartels was passing by at the same time and did not hesitate to stop and run to the aid of the trapped schoolchildren.
He and other good Samaritans were able to quickly break a window to help the terrified children out of the vehicle.
The bus driver, 65, died at the scene.
Carpenter Colby Bartels (pictured) has been hailed as a hero after springing into action to help 32 Assumption College schoolchildren escape a bus after it crashed.
Bartels said he and another man quickly jumped out of the broken driver’s side window to assess the damage.
“All the kids had gathered at the back of the bus and the bags were kind of spread out in the aisle,” he told Sunrise on Thursday.
“We tried to calm everyone down a bit before breaking the side window to try to get the kids out.
“As you can imagine, some of them were a little shocked and a little scared…The older students were doing a good job trying to calm the younger kids down.”
The tradie said they managed to break one of the side windows and helped the students out one by one with the help of a ladder leaning against the side of the bus.
Bartels’ quick thinking helped earn him the nickname “tradie hero,” which he said he disagreed with.
“I’m no hero, I was in the right place at the right time just like a lot of people passing by, we all stopped to help and did the right thing,” he said.
The bus left Wandong Road, near Kilmore, north of Melbourne, and hit a tree shortly after 3.30pm on Wednesday, killing the driver (pictured).
The school informed parents of the severity of the accident shortly after 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday, saying some students were treated for “minor injuries” at the scene.
“Fortunately, none of the students were seriously injured,” the Facebook post reads.
‘The school immediately notified all families and headteacher Paul Finneran and other staff traveled to the scene.
“Our thoughts and prayers are with everyone involved in this accident.”
The university thanked the emergency services for their “rapid and professional response” and pledged to provide advice and support to students and families.
