Noble Energy Employees Rush To Help After School Bus Crash
WELD COUNTY, Colo. (CBS4) – After a school bus crashed into a truck, rolled over 1½ times, injuring dozens of students in rural Weld County on Thursday, several drivers stopped their commutes to come together to help those in need.
Of those who stopped to help the injured teenagers, were employees of Noble Energy.
"I drive County Road 49 about 10 times a day," said Eric Zito, a Noble Energy employee. "But, this time, there was a bus in the ditch."
Investigators said William Carroll, 36, of Littleton, was driving a truck when he allegedly fell asleep at the wheel and drifted into oncoming traffic.
"I was first on scene," Zito said.
Zito and other coworkers stopped their vehicles to assess the scene. He said his knowledge in crisis management kicked in when he saw there were injuries. He grabbed his first aid kit, and ran over to kids.
"We train for this every year. But we don't apply it," Zito said.
Zito said some others were pulling kids out of the bus. He decided to check the scene for any liquids, or gasses, that the crash could have caused to leak.
To make sure we didn't have any carbon, hydrocarbon releases, and to make sure the kids were safe," Zito said.
Dozens of kids were injured, but all are expected to recover.
Zito said he was still shaken up by what he saw at the scene.
"It looked like a mess. Phones and backpacks (were scattered)," Zito said. "Kids bleeding, screaming, crying. It was pretty hectic."
Zito said he was just happy to see everyone come together to help those in need, amid such a scary situation.
"That is the way people should act. The good nature of people helping out, and doing the right thing," Zito said.
Zito and many of his coworkers live in Northern Colorado. A spokesperson for Noble Energy told CBS4's Dillon Thomas some of the students on the bus are children of Noble employees.
Dillon Thomas is a reporter at CBS4 and a Colorado native. He believes everyone has a story, and would love to share yours! You can find more of his stories by following him on Twitter, @DillonMThomas.