Sixteen students were injured on a Brooklyn bus this morning when one student decided to set off a firecracker while the vehicle was en route. An official reported that emergency crews responded just before 7:30 a.m. to “a smoke condition” on Dorchester Road in Ditmas Park.
The Department of Education’s spokesperson, Marge Feinberg, released a statement about the bus company after reports circulated that a firecracker was set off . Feinberg stated that one or two children might have set off the firecracker, which lead to injuries.
Amari Bhola gave his account to CBS about what happened on the bus once the firecracker went off.
“First it lit up in the back, then blew up in the middle where I was sitting. It just blew up into fumes and it started to stink in the bus a lot. It was really green.”
It’s being reported that the bus was carrying children that attended the Brooklyn Dreams Charter School on Coney Island when the firecracker incident happened. The official headcount reported forty-four students were on the bus when the firecracker was set off.
Green smoke reported on school bus from Brooklyn Dream Academy. Paramedics at Ocean ave&Dorchester. @NBCNewYork pic.twitter.com/ocnNPNStNX
— Jen Maxfield (@JenMaxfield4NY) May 27, 2014
Amari admitted that although he wasn’t scared, other children on the bus were.
“They were kind of screaming. They said it stinks a lot and they kept asking, ‘Who did this? Why would you do this?’ People kept saying they couldn’t breathe that well.”
Amari’s mother, Linda Bhola, heard the news about the firecracker on the bus heading to Brooklyn Dreams Charter School and raced to the scene to check if her son was okay.
Bhola also told CBS that her son has asthma, but, luckily, he had his inhaler with him at the time, so he wasn’t as affected like the other children. The incident reportedly sent eleven children to the hospital due to breathing problems.
When Amari’s mother heard of the news, she contacted school officials for the whole story.
“I said ‘what situation?’ They said something exploded,” she said. “I said, ‘wow that’s dangerous.’”
In total, fifteen children were harmed by the smoke from the firecracker, but all had minor injuries except for one child who was seriously hurt. Five children were treated at the scene.
As of right now, it’s not known if legal action will be taken against the one or two students who set off the firecracker on the bus.
[Image via CBS 2 News]
