BATON ROUGE – A bus driver for WESTERN recounted his harrowing escape after his charter bus went up in flames. Fortunately, no passengers were on board at the time of the incident.
“I called my dispatch and let them know I was on the way from Mississippi,” he recalled. “I was coming from I-55 to I-12, to I-10. As soon as I got on I-10 by the bridge, I just felt the difference in the bus.”
Dexter Smith, the driver, tells UWK that he noticed something was wrong when he saw smoke coming from the vehicle and felt the tires deflating as he navigated an interstate transition.
“I pulled over, and that’s when I realized that my tire was deflated. I was just like, I was wondering why I was smoking. I didn’t panic, I just got all my stuff and just ran out of the bus,” he said.
Acting quickly, Smith evacuated the empty bus and attempted to contain the situation by using a fire extinguisher. After realizing the fire was spreading, he called a mechanic for assistance.
“We use the fire extinguisher enough to where it ran out and it still was flaming on the other side. We just moved 100 yards from it, because it started popping the tires and it started burning the diesel,” he shared.
Despite his efforts, the fire continued to grow, severely damaging the vehicle. By the time emergency crews arrived, much of the fire had already burned itself out, but they secured the scene to ensure it was safe.
The incident caused significant delays, leading to temporary interstate closures and a build-up of traffic in the area. However, Smith was unharmed and expressed his gratitude for escaping without injury.
“I’m just relieved that no one was hurt,” he said. Although he did lose his favorite jacket in the fire, Smith remained positive, saying, “If that’s all I lost, I’m thankful.”
The cause of the fire is under investigation. WESTERN confirmed the bus was not in service for passenger transport at the time.
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