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"I thought about them kids like it was my own child."

A Louisiana school bus driver is being hailed a hero after she jumped into action and helped nine children off a school bus before the vehicle was engulfed in flames.

Kia Rousseve, a bus driver for Community Academies of New Orleans, was on her way to her fifth bus stop along her usual route on March 13 when she realized something was wrong and her mother's instinct kicked in.

"I put my motherhood on. I have a child, so I thought about them kids like it was my own child," Rousseve told "Good Morning America."

MORE: Hero rail workers honored for saving 3-year-old on train tracks

The 28-year-old said she first knew something wasn't right when the school bus she was driving started to lose power.

"The bus started acting crazy and started jerking and going real, real slow," Rousseve recalled.

The incident was caught on a nearby security camera . In the footage, Rousseve is seen pulling over, and a bystander runs to let her know that flames are coming from underneath the school bus.

Rousseve said she then quickly gathered the young students inside the bus, who are in kindergarten through eighth grade, and led them off and away from the vehicle.

"I just had to stay calm for the kids because there was crying and running up the street, and I had to get them together, you know, make sure they were straight," Rousseve said.

MORE: 7-year-old speaks out after school bus driver jumps to his aid: 'She's my hero'

Moments later, the front of the bus went up in flames.

Rousseve's employer, Community Academies of New Orleans, called her quick thinking and actions "courage on wheels."

"We could have lost our lives. That's what I've been thinking a lot," Rousseve said. "Every time I look at the pictures and like, wow, my seat was the first thing that caught on fire."

"I was just glad that I was being a hero to the kids and being a hero to myself by getting them off the bus," she added.

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Tourist bus catches fire on st. charles ave., video shows.

New Orleans Fire Department says no injuries were reported

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A tour bus caught on fire in New Orleans on St. Charles Avenue.

Video captured by Nick Nicholls shows the fire on the back of the bus.

This happened on St. Charles Avenue and Harmony Street, near The Fresh Market.

New Orleans Fire Department officials say no one was injured, and they extinguished the fire around 2:30 p.m.

This is a developing story and will be updated as new details emerge.

Hero bus driver saves children moments before school bus catches fire

NEW ORLEANS, La. -- A New Orleans school bus driver is being praised for evacuating the children on her bus moments before it went up in flames.

Kia Rousseve said she knew something wasn't right when the bus started losing power.

Moments after she pulled over, a bystander ran up to let her know that flames were coming from underneath the vehicle.

Rousseve jumped into action, gathering the group of kindergarten through eighth-grade students and leading them off of the bus.

Video shows, within moments, the front of the bus was completely engulfed in fire.

RELATED: CTA bus driver, passenger help rescue people from 2 house fires, police say

"We could have lost our lives. That's what I've been thinking a lot. Like, it's like every time I look at the pictures and like, wow, my seat was the first thing, you know, that caught on fire," Rousseve said.

Rousseve credits a "mother's instinct" for her quick reaction.

"I put my motherhood on. I have a child. So, I thought about them kids like it was my own child," she said.

Rousseve's actions saved her own life, and the lives of the nine children on her bus.

"I was just glad that I was being a hero to the kids and being a hero to myself by getting them off the bus," she said.

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Video Shows New Orleans Tourist Bus in Flames

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When it's Memorial Day Weekend in New Orleans Louisiana, you can bet it's going to be hot. However, passengers aboard a double-decker sightseeing bus in the Big Easy didn't expect their tour of New Orleans to be this "fire".

According to reports the sightseeing bus also known as a Hop on Hop Off bus caught fire during its route around the city just after 2 pm on Monday. Hop on Hop Off busses are a staple in many cities around the world. The Hop on Hop Off model is relatively simple. The buses run a posted route through town. The company has various stops posted along the route.  This allows guests to hop on the bus when they want and hop off when they are near an area of town they'd like to explore.

I personally have used Hop On Hop Off Buses in New York City, Buenos Aires, Berlin, Dallas, and Denver. They are a great way to get to see a city without spending a ton of money on cabs or Ubers. The service is usually reliable and I have never experienced anything like what those guests in New Orleans experienced on Monday afternoon.

Below you can see the flames coming out of the back of the bus. There is some NSFW language on the video, but I can't blame the photographer for their exclamation, I'd have probably said the same thing.

The good news is that no one on the bus nor on the ground was injured. The company which runs the bus service  City Sightseeing New Orleans  said they will be investigating the cause of the blaze. They spoke glowingly about the way their staff and New Orleans Fire Crews handled the situation.

10 Festivals We Don't Have in Louisiana But Need

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School bus driver talks about saving 9 students as bus goes up in flames, explodes

NEW ORLEANS ( WVUE /Gray News) - A New Orleans school bus driver is being hailed a hero after saving nine students as her bus went up in flames.

“As soon as I seen the bus smoking, my instinct was get them off of the bus,” bus driver Kia Rousseve said.

On Wednesday morning, Rousseve was about to make her fifth stop when she noticed something was off. She pulled over.

“I seen the smoke and then a little girl came and told me the bus was on fire underneath,” Rousseve said. “I got them off.”

Rousseve said she quickly ushered the students from kindergarten through eighth grade off the bus. She said she was able to use the front door instead of the emergency exit.

“I turned the bus off and got off. When I got off, the bus blew up,” she said. “All I heard was boom, boom, boom. I was like, ‘Oh my God, the bus blew up.’”

Rousseve said she was thinking about her child as she saved the student on her bus. She works for Community Academies of New Orleans, which called her actions “Courage on wheels,” and said she has been driving school buses for three years.

“I feel great about saving other kids’ lives and saving my life,” she said.

Rousseve said she believes a faulty alternator is to blame for the fire. She said she’s proud to share her heroism story and that God was watching over everyone on her bus.

Copyright 2024 WVUE via Gray Media Group, Inc. All rights reserved.

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A 28-Year-Old New Orleans School Bus Driver Bravely Rescues 8 Children Moments Before Bus Catches Fire

A school bus driver in New Orleans is being praised as a hero for saving the lives of eight children after a malfunction caused the bus to catch fire.

Kia Rousseve, 28, told NOLA.com that the incident happened after 7 a.m. Wednesday morning while driving along her route.

Rousseve noticed the bus began losing power and started to smoke, prompting her to pull over and call her supervisor. She grabbed her purse and quickly ushered the eight children off the bus before the fire began.

“My instinct is like ‘No, this is not normal.’ My instinct was like ‘Pull the bus over,'” Rousseve told the outlet.

Rousseve said she had been a school bus driver for three years and started working for Community Academies in February.

She had six more stops on her Uptown route that morning, which was headed to Lafayette Academy, when the bus started having mechanical issues, WWL-TV  reported.

Despite never having faced such a harrowing ordeal before, Rousseve expresses gratitude that she and everyone else were safe and unharmed.

“This was something that I never experienced,” Rousseve said. “For me to save my life and them kids’ lives, that was a real good thing that I did.”

Rousseve’s supervisor issued a statement commending her quick thinking amid the incident.

“Her ability to stay calm in the face of danger, ensuring not a single child came to harm is nothing short of heroic,” her supervisor said in the statement, per NOLA.com. “It’s a poignant reminder of the crucial role bus drivers play in our children’s lives, often going unnoticed until a moment of crisis thrusts [them] into the spotlight.”

The terrifying experience has instilled fear in Rousseve, making her hesitant to drive again.

“I’m really … not sleeping. It’s just been a lot going on,” she said.

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‘Heroic’ bus driver in New Orleans gets students out moments before explosion

Kia Rousseve, 28, who saved nine children, says she’s ‘just happy that God was with me’ – especially because she is a mother herself

Kia Rousseve had been led to believe the school bus she drove for work in New Orleans was supposed to be relatively pristine, but she never let that lull her into a false sense of security.

By a margin of moments, that attitude helped save eight students – and her – from being inside the bus when it unexpectedly exploded and became engulfed in flames.

A statement providing details about the episode, which has gone viral in some online circles dedicated to positive news items, declared Rousseve “courage on wheels”. Meanwhile, the 28-year-old maintains she was simply relieved to keep her wits about her in a potentially deadly situation.

“I’m just happy and glad that God was with me and I got the kids off the bus and got myself off the bus,” especially because she is a mother to a young child herself, Rousseve said in an interview.

Bus fires across the US are not uncommon, though not every one is as dramatic as the one that endangered Rousseve and her passengers – with slightly more than one being reported daily on average, according to data previously compiled by the federal department of transportation.

Rousseve had about a half dozen more stops to go on her route to New Orleans’s Lafayette Academy at approximately 7am on 13 March when she realized her school bus was losing power and had started to smoke. She pulled over to the side of the road right away, not wanting to take any chances.

That’s when a girl outside caught her attention and frantically told Rousseve there was a fire underneath the bus.

Rousseve recounts that she quickly ushered each of her passengers – all students between kindergarten and eighth grade – off the bus through the front door. She said she grabbed her purse, turned the bus off, stepped down to the street to wait for help and immediately heard a series of booms.

She turned and was stunned to see the front of the bus wrapped in flames, a scene that erupted within view of a nearby surveillance camera .

“The bus blew up in a split second,” said Rousseve, who used her phone to capture her own images of the blaze. “If I would have still been on that bus, I would have blown up with that bus.”

After receiving word of the bus fire and evacuation, Rousseve said her supervisor sent her a text message thanking her for “making sure the babies were safe”. A statement said “her ability to stay calm in the face of danger, ensuring not a single child came to harm is nothing short of heroic”.

“It’s a poignant reminder of the crucial role bus drivers play in our lives, often going unnoticed until a moment of crisis thrusts them into the spotlight,” said the statement, which was first reported by Nola.com .

Yet Rousseve said her heroics were not enough to spare her from corporate absurdity. Even though she and her colleagues suspect a faulty alternator caused the rather new bus to ignite, Rousseve was required to take a drug test shortly after the blaze.

She was not worried about passing the test, whose result indeed came back negative, she said. However, she said it offended her that she was put through the same protocol she would have been put through if she had crashed the bus, when it was obvious the fire had not resulted from a traffic accident.

Rousseve, in her third year driving school buses, also said that each passing day has made it more difficult for her to process how close her brush with peril was.

“I mean, I’m traumatized,” Rousseve said. “I’m really afraid to even drive a school bus now.”

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Children's Institute 2024: A Bookseller’s Mardi Gras

Children’s institute returns to new orleans for networking, education, authors to meet, and literary lagniappe..

Children’s and YA booksellers will roll into the Crescent City Monday–Wednesday, June 10–12, for Children’s Institute 2024. “If you’ve attended Children’s Institute in the past, then you know there’s a celebratory quality to it,” says ABA CEO Allison Hill. “Children’s Institute in New Orleans means that quality is magnified 100 times by our very special host city. We can’t wait.”

As of May 1, 377 booksellers from 255 bookstores had registered to attend ABA’s 11th annual summer gathering, a tally that includes 58 first-time attendees. They’ll meet upwards of 60 authors at book signings and receptions, participate in education sessions, and visit publisher and exhibitor booths to learn about catalogs, industry tools, and sidelines. And they’ll leave with totes full of swag (namely books and ARCs) from the galley room.

A fais-do-do (Cajun dance party) of jazz, zydeco, and drumline medleys seems appropriate for the locale and nonstop activities to “pass a good time,” as the locals would say. “Baldwin & Co., with thanks to our publisher cosponsors, is graciously hosting attendees for a welcome to NOLA reception” on June 9, Hill says. In a city renowned for its carnival atmosphere, “booksellers are already planning their costumes for the opening reception costume party and their book selection for the book swap dinner on June 10. And that’s just the first 24 hours.”

Children’s Institute last convened in the Big Easy in 2018 with approximately 300 booksellers in attendance, and Gen de Botton, ABA senior manager of children’s bookselling programs and education, says she’s “thrilled to return.” Six years ago, “an amazing energy bolstered the community, and we set our sights on the future of children’s bookselling. Now we can see how the event has grown not only in attendance but in community.” Sessions will “focus on peer-to-peer learning, resource sharing, and sustainable and equitable approaches to children’s bookselling.”

Highlights will include bookstore tours, a Monday-evening opening keynote with Meg Medina and Tuesday breakfast keynote with Renée Watson (for PW ’s q&as with Medina and Watson, see p. 10 and p. 16, respectively), and a presentation on queer storytelling by authors Rex Ogle and Mark Oshiro. A Wednesday breakfast roundtable, “Spotlight on Black Publishing,” brings together author and Just Us Books cofounder Cheryl Willis Hudson, author and Freedom Fire publisher Kwame Mbalia, Joy Revolution editor Bria Ragin, and ABA DEIA specialist Britt Camacho. Drag Story Hour representatives will conduct a Monday workshop on event safety and emcee a Wednesday afternoon karaoke party.

Hill encourages booksellers “to visit as many independent bookstores as possible, either on the bus tours or on their own.” For those not taking the full-day bus tour, she recommends the workshop “Recruiting, Hiring and Onboarding with an Inclusive and Accessible Lens,” presented by Seattle consultancy Rise with Us. “We all need to stay vigilant about antiracism, inclusion, equity, and accessibility in our industry,” Hill says.

Anticipating another productive gathering in a fabled city, Hill urges ABA members to experience “the food, music, architecture, and amazing independent bookstores of New Orleans, the community of booksellers from all over the country, and the incredible list of authors. Like they say in New Orleans, ‘ Laissez les bons temps rouler ’ Let the good times roll!”

Read more from our Children's Institute Feature:

Children's Institute 2024: Bookselling in the Big Easy

New Orleans indies are vibrant community hubs in one of the liveliest and most colorful cities in the country. They not only sell books -- many offer innovative programming for both adults and children.

Children's Institute 2024: Authors and Illustrators to Meet

More than 60 authors and illustrators will interact with booksellers in New Orleans, during keynotes, panel sessions, dinners, a reception and publisher-sponsored after party, and, of course, the costume party.

Children's Institute 2024: It Takes a Village: PW talks with Meg Medina

Medina, 2023-2024 national ambassador for young children’s literature, spoke with PW about how the village really does raise a child, and her memory of firing a beloved babysitter when she was young.

Children's Institute 2024: The Poetry of Grief: PW Talks with Renée Watson

Watson spoke with PW about writing in prose, the power of community, and holding space for all Black children’s emotions.

Children's Institute 2024: One Man's Treasure: PW talks with Andrew Larsen

Larsen spoke with PW about upcycling, the anthropological significance of garbage, and his forthcoming picture book 'Gifts from the Garbage Truck: A True Story About the Things We (Don’t) Throw Away.'

Children's Institute 2024: Growing New Roots: PW Talks with Ruth Chan

Chan, whose immigrant parents returned the family to Hong Kong after years in Toronto, spoke with PW about the memoir form, culture shock, and getting over teenage insecurities.

Children's Institute 2024: Lift Every Voice and Sing: PW Talks with Cheryl Willis Hudson

Hudson, the co-founder of Just Us Books and a children’s book author, spoke with PW about the enduring impact both of African-American spirituals and of BIPOC indie presses.

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New Orleans firefighters help evacuate four people during two-alarm fire

New Orleans firefighters helped evacuate four residents during a two-alarm fire Sunday.

The NOFD was called to a report of a fire just after 3:45 p.m. Firefighters say the scene was in the 1500 block of Marais Street.

An unoccupied building there was already engulfed in flames when fire crews arrived, and they said the fire had begun extending to the back of an occupied three-unit dwelling.

NOFD firefighters evacuated four residents from the exposed property.

A second alarm was requested while firefighters worked to keep the fire from engulfing the entire large triplex.

Fifteen NOFD units were used to bring the incident under control, which was reported just after 4:30 p.m.

The American Red Cross was called in to help a total of 12 triplex residents who were displaced.

The cause of the fire is currently under investigation.

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Miley's Tour Bus Burst into Flames and Her Little Sister Caught the Whole Thing on Camera

By Casey Lewis

Miley Cyrus's Bangerz tour has had no shortage of on-stage antics, from furry dancing bears to tongue-shaped slides , but when one of her tour busses went up in flames—insert Miley-sure-is-on-fire! joke here—last night, it wasn't a stunt. Fortunately, no one was hurt, though their vehicle has certainly seen better days. "Tour bus down!," read the caption of Noah Cyrus's video clip, which showed one of the Bangerz buses ablaze on the side of a highway.

Though Miley was on a different bus, Noah and her mom, Tish, were on their way from Houston to New Orleans for tonight's show when a tire exploded and sparked a fire. Scary stuff! This morning, Noah posted another clip telling fans not to worry. "I just wanted to let you know about last night. Everything's OK," she says . "No one died. No one got hurt. Everything's fine. Just, bus down!"

We're sad that the bus is, in fact, down, but we're happy everyone's OK. (Thanks for the play-by-play, Noah!) Related: Can you even imagine being Miley's 13-year-old sister, traveling around the country and going to her shows every night? Gives middle school a run for its money, that's for sure.

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By Lai Frances

Scottie Scheffler caps a ‘hectic’ weekend by rallying to a strong finish at the PGA Championship

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — The sentence seemed unthinkable at the beginning of the PGA Championship. Or any other time for that matter.

And yet there Scottie Scheffler was late Sunday afternoon, talking matter-of-factly about a week in which his burgeoning celebrity crossed over into notoriety in a way the world’s top-ranked golfer never imagined.

Asked if a so-so third-round Saturday that cost him a legitimate shot at a third career major title was the ripple effect of  all the chaos  that came a day earlier, Scheffler offered a response that seemed absurd — except for the part where it also happened to be true.

“I got arrested Friday morning and I showed up here and played a good round of golf, as well,” he explained.

Scheffler played another one Sunday, a 6-under 65 that vaulted him to 13 under and a tie for eighth  behind winner Xander Schauffele  and had all the trappings of a vintage Scheffler performance: a couple of laser-guided approaches, a handful of birdie putts and the relentlessness that has become his trademark.

Here’s what the weekend also featured: members of the gallery wearing hastily made T-shirts with Scheffler’s mug shot on the front and yelling “Free Scottie!” over and over (and over).

Oh, and questions afterward about his schedule, including whether he planned to stick around for his scheduled Tuesday morning arraignment on multiple charges stemming  from an incident outside Valhalla Golf Club  in the predawn hours before Friday’s second round or head home to his wife Meredith and  newborn son Bennett  back home in Dallas.

“I think it’s all up in the air,” Scheffler said. “I’m not really sure what the next days have in store. I think I’m able to get home ... but we’ll see when I leave here. I haven’t really had much chance to assess the situation off the course.”

Jefferson County Attorney Mike O’Connell said Sunday his office had made no decisions on Scheffler’s case and is continuing to gather information.

Scheffler’s weeklong stay in Kentucky may have made the affable 27-year-old Texan more well-known than if he had finished the tournament by raising the Wanamaker Trophy in triumph.

Rather than become a PGA champion this weekend, Scheffler  became a meme .

And while he thanked nearly everyone who came across his path outside Kentucky’s largest city for their support, the guys he plays with every week couldn’t help but have his back and have a little fun about the bizarreness of it all at the same time.

“Frustrating week in KY. Lost to a guy who was literally in jail Friday morning,” fellow PGA Tour pro Max Homa  posted on Instagram  after finishing five shots behind Scheffler. “Tough look for me.”

Homa was kidding, of course. Yet the attention has put Scheffler in the uncomfortable position of trying to balance very disparate things at the same time.

Yes, he really was placed in handcuffs and taken to jail for allegedly disobeying the orders of a police officer tending to the scene of an accident where a vendor working the tournament was struck and killed by a bus. Yes, he really did get fingerprinted. Yes, he really did still make it back to the course in time to fire a 4-under 67 that put him in contention.

Still, all of this was taking place against the backdrop of a tragedy that wasn’t far from Scheffler’s mind. He extended his sympathies to John Mills’ family on Friday while adding his arrest was a “big misunderstanding” and that his situation would “get handled.”

It’s a lot to take in. Yet Scheffler was able — for two of the final three rounds anyway — to somehow tune out all of it.

“I’ve gotten better throughout my career of leaving the off-course distractions at home and kind of keeping a pretty quiet personal life,” he said. “And this week obviously that was not the case.”

No, it was not. Much of what was happening around Scheffler — in particular the way fans had fun with the image of a player whose idea of a good time is staying in and playing board games — was out of his control. He didn’t ask for it and tried to turn the “Free Scotties” into so much background noise.

Sunday, with caddie Ted Scott back on the bag a day after Scott went home to attend his daughter’s high school graduation, Scheffler put together a charge fueled by seven birdies against one bogey that looked — inside the ropes anyway — an awful lot like business as usual.

Except, it wasn’t. Scheffler admitted he nearly fell asleep while signing his scorecard and his thoughts immediately began racing toward the opportunity to get out of Kentucky and get back to Texas, family and fatherhood.

He is scheduled to play at Colonial in Fort Worth next week. He intends on keeping that commitment, but only after having a chance to reunite with Meredith and Bennett and put a little distance between himself and three “hectic” days he never saw coming.

“I’m just kind of just wondering what time bedtime is,” Scheffler said. “I’m trying to figure out how quickly I can get home from here and, yeah, that’s pretty much it.”

AP golf:  https://apnews.com/hub/golf

Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

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