SUMTER, S.C. — New details about a school bus that crashed into a Sumter home while carrying five elementary school students on Friday.
Authorities say the driver was looking into his rear-view mirror when he hit a curb and lost control of the bus causing severe damage to one home and a neighboring shed.
James Lane was with his sister Francis Sease on Friday when they saw the school bus swerve off the road and crash into a home across the street.
“When it got to a certain point, it went up a little bit and just flew about 20 feet in the air,” Lane said, “and then it hit the house. It made a real explosion... like a bomb going off.”
According to the school district, the bus was carrying five Kingsbury Elementary School students at the time.
There were no serious injuries reported from the accident.
"My sister ran over and helped with the kids," Lane said.
A retired nurse, Sease says instinct sent her flying to their aid.
"They were not crying; they were really, really calm," Sease said. "It was surprising for me. They didn't seem afraid or anything. I was really proud of them."
This is not the first time a vehicle has crashed into a home in the area.
This is the same spot where in November of 2017 a truck ran off the road and crashed through the neighbor's home.
"If it was me, I'd lower the speed limit," Lane said. "They go awfully fast."
The highway patrol is still investigating, but say they don't believe speed was a factor.
"It was really lucky because, if the bus would have turned over, and it's a miracle it didn't, there'd have been some bad injuries or maybe even deaths," Lane said.