APOPKA, Fla. — Orange County district leaders are still working to learn the cause of a school bus fire in Apopka.
Channel 9 learned there were 30 students from Piedmont Lakes Middle School on the bus minutes before it caught fire.
Allan Walker, a 15-year veteran bus driver, said a passerby alerted him that smoke was coming out the back of the bus, so he pulled over to investigate. He said he never experienced anything like it during his career.
"One of the kids said, 'I smell something like burning rubber,'" Walker said.
Walker said drivers do a walk-around every morning to make sure the tires, lights and engine are working properly. He said there was no indication the bus would end up in flames that afternoon.
"A bus that just pulled up beside me and asked, 'Are you OK? Do you need for me to take your kids?' I told him, 'Yes, take them right now,'" Walker said.
Walker said he saw a little bit of smoke grow steadily until there were flames.
Walker said he still believes a school bus is the safest form of transportation.
District leaders said the service record for the bus is not available.
Channel 9 learned the bus is a 2009 CE, manufactured by Navistar. The county's director of transportation said more than 100 buses from the same model year are undergoing escalated inspections.
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