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Young school bus safety patrol heroes after Odessa crash: 'I thought it was like a nightmare'

 
Bryant Elementary’s safety patrol sponsor Chan Bliss, left, hon?ors rescuers Nicholas Sierra, Ella Brunelle and Stephanie Swartz. Fellow rescuer Kate Turlington wasn’t present.
Bryant Elementary’s safety patrol sponsor Chan Bliss, left, hon?ors rescuers Nicholas Sierra, Ella Brunelle and Stephanie Swartz. Fellow rescuer Kate Turlington wasn’t present.
Published Sept. 22, 2015

TAMPA — It was dark on the bus when it went into the water.

A fourth-grader was too panicked to move.

A second-grader jumped on safety patrol Ella Brunelle's back.

"I thought it was like a nightmare," said Ella, a fifth-grader at Bryant Elementary School just outside Westchase in northwest Hillsborough County. "We tried to get everyone to walk toward the front, but they were all screaming."

Ella, Stephanie Swartz and Nicholas Sierra, all safety patrols, gave their accounts of Thursday's bus crash in the school's media center Monday morning, shortly after a recognition ceremony that was decidedly upbeat and straightforward, like everything else that has followed last week's emergency.

A fourth patrol, Kate Turlington, also took part in the rescue but wasn't at the ceremony.

School officials have been trying to get kids at the school, including the 27 who were on the bus, back to their normal routines instead of dwelling on how tragic the outcome might have been.

Before she introduced art teacher Chan Bliss, who supervises the patrols and handed out the awards, principal Karen Bass gave a spirited shoutout to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for winning their game Sunday.

She commended parents and passers-by, including a lawn maintenance worker who, along with the patrols, pulled children to safety.

"That is what it's all about," she said. "Being a Bryant Bronco is about being respectful, being responsible and caring."

Then she downshifted into announcing the school lunch menu, including carnitas and one of her personal favorites, roasted broccoli. She asked Stephanie about a splint the child had on her finger — the injury happened at a birthday party over the weekend, Stephanie assured her.

A district crisis team met with the faculty early Friday to advise them on how to handle any emotional issues the children might experience.

The students, answering questions after the ceremony, described the terrifying moments when the bus picked up speed, hit a tree, overturned, hit another tree and landed in the water.

"I thought it was just turbulence," Stephanie said.

While Ella carried the second-grader on her back, Stephanie worked with the fourth-grader. "He wouldn't move, he was just standing there," she said. "I was telling him what to do."

Why did they risk their own safety to take care of the others? "It's our job," Nicholas said.

The kids received certificates, pins for their badges and bumper stickers that read, "My Child Saves Lives."

The school district is investigating driver Lenoir Sainfimin, who is now on paid leave, and the 21-year-old bus.

Contact Marlene Sokol at (813) 226-3356 or msokol@tampabay.com. Follow @marlenesokol.