Groveport Madison students evacuated after bus catches fire

GROVEPORT, Ohio ( WCMH ) — A Groveport Madison bus driver was forced to evacuate students after a fire broke out on their bus.

In a social media post, the Madison Township Police Department confirmed its officers and local fire personnel responded to a report of a Groveport Madison School Bus that had caught fire on Thursday.

A photo from the scene shows the bus consumed by flames, with a thick cloud of smoke rising above it. Another image shows the bus scorched after the fire had been put out.

The bus driver evacuated students after noticing smoke rising from the engine area, according to the police department. No one was harmed by the fire.

On Friday, Groveport Madison Superintendent Jamie Grube released a statement about the bus fire. He identified LaShonna Tannyhill as the driver and thanked her.

“In my regard she did a heroic thing, she did a wonderful job and she should be recognized for that,” said Derek Robinson, chief of the Madison Township Fire Department.

Robinson said Tannyhill and students on the bus heard a loud noise at some point during the drive. Shortly after, Tannyhill noticed the bus shaking. Another driver also alerted her something did not look right, according to Robinson. She pulled over and smelled smoke, Robinson said. She then got the 29 middle school students off the bus.

Judah Leonard, an eighth grade student, was on the bus.

“Even though it is scary, with the bus drivers quick thinking, I appreciate her,” Leonard said.

His parents put together some gifts as a thank you to Tannyhill.

“For me, my mouth dropped when I saw the aftermath,” said LaKeesha Leonard, Judah’s mother. “My biggest piece of gratitude, which I think could be missed, of course we’re grateful they are physically safe, but the way she moved and how why she was, I think it also kept the children emotionally safe, it’s not an experience they have to be traumatized from.”

The cause of the fire is still under investigation.

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