Father hugs son after witnessing school bus crash in front of their home
Father and son experience tense moments after a collision between a pickup truck and a school bus in New York
An ordinary morning turned into a harrowing experience for a family in Bouckville, New York, after a pickup truck rear-ended a school bus just as a student was about to board the vehicle in front of his house.
The accident occurred around 7:17 a.m. on Thursday on Route 20 in Madison County. According to state police, there were 23 students and the driver on the bus, while the pickup truck involved had one adult and two children. All were taken to the hospital with minor injuries.
Jeremiah Rutkowski, a junior in high school, was walking toward the bus when the collision occurred. A video captured in front of his house showed the exact moment the truck violently crashed into the back of the school bus.
“I thought something was going to fly toward me or that the whole truck was going to end up on top of me,” recalled the young man, who managed to jump back to avoid the debris.
After the collision, the bus was pushed several feet forward as Jeremiah ran back toward his front porch.
His father, Matt Rutkowski, heard the loud metallic crash from inside the house and rushed outside to see what had happened. Before approaching the scene of the accident, he hugged his son.
“The first thing I thought of was him,” Matt said. “I just wanted to make sure he was okay.”
He said he felt relieved to see that the bus driver was conscious and that the students were able to get off the bus on their own. He also helped call 911 and assisted several passersby while waiting for emergency crews to arrive.
Jeremiah confessed that he was initially paralyzed by the shock of the accident, but then he snapped out of it when one of the children in the truck needed emotional support.
“I took him to the porch and tried to keep him calm and comfortable,” explained the young man, who works as a counselor at a youth camp. “My counselor instincts just kicked in.”
Both father and son agreed that the experience made them appreciate life even more and understand how quickly everything can change in a matter of seconds.
“It makes you appreciate what you have and understand that everything can change in an instant,” Matt concluded.