Civilian Jail Worker Rescues 42 People From Burning Bus On 60 Freeway
HACIENDA HEIGHTS (CBSLA.com) — By day, Jesse Hernandez works as a custody assistant at the North County Correctional Facility. By night, he rescues passengers from burning buses on the freeway.
Technically, Hernandez – who has worked with the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department since 2012 – was on his way to work. But what transpired Sunday when Hernandez saw flames coming from the rear engine compartment of a bus on the westbound Pomona (60) Freeway, near the Hacienda Boulevard offramp, still sounds like a superhero origin story.
Sheriff's Department officials say Hernandez first saw the large charter bus at about 8:30 p.m., stopped at an angle and blocking two right lanes of the freeway. When he pulled over and ran toward the bus, he saw several passengers were frantically hitting and kicking the exit door, which appeared to be stuck, trapping everyone inside.
Hernandez forced the handle to the door, which finally gave way, allowing 42 adults – including the bus driver – to escape.
But that wasn't the end of Hernandez's heroics. The civilian jail worker then got onto the bus to make sure it was empty.
"Unsure if anyone had been left behind, Hernandez entered the smoke-filled bus and checked the passenger compartment, calling out for anyone who may have been rendered unconscious, or had become too scared or too weak to escape," sheriff's officials said. "When Hernandez saw that everyone had made it out, he quickly exited the bus."
No injuries were reported and officials did not say what caused the bus' engine to catch fire.
Hernandez, who aspires to be a sheriff's deputy, is also a reservist for the United States National Guard.