By Brandon Bartlett - bio | email | Twitter
Posted by Sarah Harlan - email
HENDERSON, KY (WFIE) - In the chaos after a school bus accident, a teenager helped rescue the younger kids.
Henderson School officials said it was a lucky coincidence that 16-year-old Cody Book was aboard when the bus tipped over.
Cody immediately knew what to do after the bus toppled over.
"I think there was a reason why I was on the bus," Cody said.
For the Henderson County students on the bus, Cody is their hero.
"My first instinct was 'I gotta get all these kids off the bus'," Cody said.
Cody, a sophomore at Henderson County High School, was the oldest student on board.
He was sitting toward the back when the bus suddenly went off the road.
"Next thing, we were up in the air," Cody said. "The impact was the worst part. Everybody on the driver's side flew out of their seats onto the other side. Everybody on the other side got smashed."
Cody was able to brace himself, but the others, mostly elementary school students, were hurt and terrified.
"They didn't know what to do," Cody said. "They were scared."
But Cody said something told him exactly what to do.
"I was like, 'well I guess I'm in control. I'm going to have to get everybody off'," Cody said.
The bus was on its side, and the only way out that he saw was through the emergency exits on the roof.
"Everybody was bleeding and crying," Cody said. "One had blood all down his face."
But amid all that chaos, he came up with a plan.
"I just worked my way from the back to the front," Cody said.
And one by one, he helped the young kids climb out of the bus to safety.
"Next thing I knew, all the ambulances and everybody was there," Cody said.
It's not the way Cody expected to start his day, but in the end, he believes there's a reason he missed his ride to school and ended up on that bus.
"Everybody keeps saying that I'm a hero, but I don't really think so," Cody said. "I was just there at the right time."
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