Parents want answers after school bus catches fire in Cary
There is outrage over the lack of communication between parents and officials with Wake County Schools after a school bus caught fire Thursday.
A bus driver and a student on board a Cary school bus escaped without injuries after it caught fire. Cary police said fire officials were called to the fire at 4:30 p.m. at N.C. Highway 55 northbound near Green Hope School Road. Eyewitnesses saw flames and smoke come from the engine of the bus.
Now, some are questioning if the bus should have even been on the road in the first place.
Chris Michaels and other parents waited for their kids to file off the school bus one by one on Friday, one day after bus No. 1122 caught fire and burst into a ball of flames.
"We get crickets, absolute crickets. It’s nuts," Michaels said. "And if they can’t figure out the problem, heads need to roll. People need to resign or we need a change of leadership there to make sure we’re actually getting safe buses for kids."
Meanwhile, when notifications on Twitter of bus delays started rolling in, parents said it created more questions than answers.
"The vice principal did tell me that the bus was having issues and was on the corner of (Highway) 55 and Green Hope School Road and there was smoke involved," said Jennifer Flippin, a parent. "I did not know until much later that it was engulfed in flames.
"It’s been over 24 hours and we still have not heard anything at all from the district. As parents of students who have to ride these buses, we haven’t heard anything."
WRAL has requested the maintenance records and inspection reports for the bus that caught fire. Buses routinely undergo preventative maintenance. We were told Friday evening we could expect that report on Monday.
It's unclear right now what sparked the fire, but those who saw the smoke and flames are just thankful no one was hurt.
