WILSON, N.C. (WNCN) — Khalil Gary of Raleigh never expected a chartered bus he and 40 fellow college students were on to catch fire Saturday.
This all happened while with the Hampton University Track and Field team was riding back to Virginia from a track meet in South Carolina.
No injuries were reported.
“A lot of people were caught off guard, and in disbelief,” said Gary, a student and member of the team.
Wilson County Emergency Management officials said the bus caught fire just after 10 p.m. Saturday while heading northbound on Interstate 95.
Gary said he remembers the moment he saw smoke coming from the back of the bus.
“The smoke was getting kind of thick. It was spreading through the bus kind of quickly,” he said. “When we all got off the bus, within 10 minutes of everybody evacuating, that’s when the bus quickly got engulfed in flames.”
County emergency management officials said it took about an hour and a half to put out the fire, with the bus carrying 100 gallons of diesel fuel.
First responders took students to a nearby Wilson high school, where they eventually boarded a new bus to head back to Virginia. They arrived back on campus early Sunday morning.
Gary, however, said many went home without all of their belongings.
“A lot of people lost clothes, laptops, textbooks, MacBooks, phones. Things like that,” Gary said. “We had no control, obviously, since our stuff was burning on the bus.”
Bull Jarvis with Coastal Wrecker Service remembers towing the bus to his yard.
“It was quite intense,” Jarvis said. “First thing that was told to me when I walked up, ‘It’s going to be a while’.”
The bus is a total loss, but for Jarvis, it’s still a positive outcome.
“When you start talking about buses, you talk about people,” Jarvis said. “That’s when you kind of hope they’re alright.”
It’s unknown what sparked the engine fire.
Wilson County Emergency Management said it was a team effort from first responders who helped out.
In a Facebook post, they wrote:
“Our thanks to Wilson County 911, Contentnea VFD, Rock Ridge VFD, Sims VFD, Wilson County EMS, Wilson County Sheriff’s Department, NCSHP, NCDOT, NCEM, Wilson County Schools, American Red Cross and Coastal Wrecker Service. Job well done! Teamwork!”