A young boy is getting the hero treatment after he jumped to action in helping rescue some of his classmates.
The Tampa Tribune reported Nicholas Sierra, A fifth grader from Mary E. Bryant Elementary School in Tampa, Florida, rescued three students from a partially submerged bus following a crash.
27 students were on board the bus heading home from school when the vehicle skid off the road, slamming into trees before crashing into a pond last Thursday.
Only minor injuries were reported.
The driver said he believes the brakes may have failed.
Before Hillsborough County Deputies arrived on the scene, Sierra pulled a kindergartner out of the bus and brought her to safety before heading back on board and bringing out two more students.
“I grabbed the kindergartner’s arms and put them around my neck and brought her to land,” Sierra told the Tampa Tribune, “and then I went back to the bus and grabbed to other kindergartners and I also took them to land.”
Parents reportedly showed up and dove into the water to remove any children that could not escape on their own.
Responding deputies could be seen removing their gun belts and equipment, later combing through the entirety of bus and checking under seats to make sure no children were left behind.
The 10-year-old hero is a safety patrol at his school and told the newspaper he felt obligated to dive in and help.
“It wouldn’t be fair if they died and I lived,” Sierra explained.
The driver was seen repeatedly hitting the brakes leading up to the incident, but a direct cause can not be determined until mechanics complete their inspection of the vehicle.