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Driver Saves Disabled Woman From Burning Bus On Long Island

DEER PARK, N.Y. (CBSNewYork) -- A bus driver risked his own life Thursday to save a disabled woman when the bus burst into flames.

Panic set in for Cindy March as she sat strapped in a wheelchair on a bus and noticed smoke billowing from under the hood, CBS2's Carolyn Gusoff.

The 54-year-old Farmingdale was en route to daily physical therapy when the Nassau Inter County Express bus she and her aide were riding caught fire. She said the bottom half of the wheelchair was strapped onto the floor of the vehicle.

Cindy March
Cindy March (credit: CBS2)

She's alive to tell about it, she says, thanks to her bus driver.

"He picked me up out of my wheelchair, he carried me down the stairs and then ran with me across the lawn of the school," March told Gusoff.

It was there in front of the Parkway School in Plainview that moments later the bus was consumed by fire.

March is dependent upon a wheelchair and walker after spinal surgery. She said the bus driver didn't hesitate to put her safety before his own.

"Saving my life, saving me from becoming maimed," she said.

Driver Jean Jeune, working only nine months for NICE buses, realized quickly the wheelchair lift had lost power and he'd have to carry his only disabled passenger off the burning bus.

Jean Jeune
NICE bus driver Jean Jeune carried a disabled woman off a burning bus in Plainview, Long Island, on June 9, 2016. (credit: Kevin Imm)

His employer said his training kicked in, but his instincts also took over.

"His quick and decisive response was just outstanding," said Andy Kraus, spokesman for Able-Ride/NICE.

March lost her customized wheelchair but gained faith in heroism.

"Unbelievable," she said. "I'm a stranger to him ... and he did this. Thank you. My family thanks you."

The bus driver will be honored by the Nassau County executive and NICE bus officials in a ceremony Monday.

There is no word yet on what caused the fire.

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