Dozens of athletes from Hampton University were able to evacuate a charter bus before it exploded in North Carolina.
According to a statement from Wilson County Emergency Management, 41 track and field athletes from Hampton University were traveling home on Saturday night from a meet at the University of South Carolina when the bus went up in flames.
The statement said the bus driver “did an excellent job” evacuating the students before the bus exploded. Wilson County Emergency Management Director Gordon Deno said it took about 30 minutes to extinguish the fire, as around 100 gallons of diesel fuel burned.
The students were taken to a high school, where they waited for a new bus.
University spokesman Jim Heath says the team reached home early Sunday.