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'Get out!': Girl Helps Classmates After Bus Slams Into Montgomery County Home

Isabel Llopis always paid attention during bus safety training in school. Those lessons paid off in a big way Tuesday morning when she helped her classmates get off a school bus after it went off road and slammed into a Montgomery County home.

"It feels good because I know that I helped some people," the 11-year-old girl said.

SkyForce10 captured the aftermath of the crash that left the front half of the bus inside the Windermere Drive home, near Morris Road, in Whitpain Township.

Llopis was one of 11 students -- ranging from kindergartners to 8th graders -- from St. Helena School in Blue Bell who were on board when the crash occurred just before 8 a.m. in the suburban gated community, police said.  A husband, his wife and their child were also inside the home at the time, authorities said.

Llopis admits she was in shock immediately after the accident.

"The first thing I thought was just, 'This can't be happening. This isnt real,'" Llopis said. "I saw some adults up there and I was just like, 'Help us! Please!'"

After quickly assessing the situation, Llopis regained her composure and jumped into action.

"I saw the latch on the door and I knew I couldn't do the up emergency exit so I did that emergency exit," Llopis said. "I just opened it and I got out and I was kind of encouraging the kids. I was like, 'Come on! You've gotta get out! Come on! Let's go!"

Llopis managed to get her classmates off the bus before witnesses and neighbors could help.

"I just ran over and the backdoor was open," said Craig Kelman, one of the witnesses. "I jumped into the back of the bus just to make sure there were no children in there. It was just full of exhaust. I looked for the keys and I just shut the bus off."

The neighbors then called 911.

The 58-year-old driver, who was helped off the bus by neighbors, seemed coherent, although he appeared to be hyperventilating, according to several witnesses.

"The driver was absolutely lethargic," Kelman said. " He had no recollection whatsoever. He said he completely blacked out.... But the first concern the driver had is he asked, 'Are all the children okay?'"

The bus driver was rushed to Abington Memorial Hospital for treatment. His condition is unknown. One boy suffered a bloody nose. No one else was hurt.

A school nurse evaluated the students as a precaution, however, they were in good spirits after the accident -- enjoying soft pretzels in the principal's office, officials said.

WEB saint helena kids in school bus crash
Saint Helena School officials
None of the kids aboard the school bus were hurt when it crashed into a Montgomery County home. This picture shows them in the principal's office after the accident occurred.

"They'll remember this one for a long time," Kelman said. 

Witnesses tell NBC10 the kids were loaded onto a second school bus that arrived at the scene.

Both Kelman and Glazer said the timing of the crash likely prevented more people from getting hurt, as many other school children and their parents are usually outside later in the morning.

Residents watched for hours as tow operators pulled the bus from the home. Now officials are investigating what caused the driver to lose control in the first place.

Saint Helena is a co-ed private school that serves 525 students in grades pre-K through 8th, according to the school's Facebook page.  The gated community where the accident occurred is located a short distance from Route 202 and just behind Normany Farm, which is a National Register of Historic Places site and modern day wedding venue.

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