DADES CITY, Fla. (WFLA) – Dayanara Aguilar Gabriel is only 9-years-old but she has quite the story to tell.
It is a story of survival, and it’s caught on camera. She was on a Pasco County school bus coming home from school when a terrifying crash took place.
Dayanara was there in the middle of it, watching it firsthand. She had fallen asleep when a big rig slammed into the bus.
“I saw, and I said, ‘what happened?’ They told me what happened, that we crashed,” she told News Channel 8.
Luckily, everyone on board the bus survived the terror.
However, the teacher on board, who just so happens to be this little girl’s favorite, went flying across the aisle.
“I was crying. I was thinking that we weren’t going to go home, and I got scared a lot,” she said.
Also on board the bus was Dayanara’s little brother, who is autistic.
Dayanara quickly try to comfort him. She said, “I got scared and my brother did too. But, he covered his ears.”
News Channel 8 showed the children’s mother at the video Wednesday night. It was the first time she had seen it.
Her face registered shock, anguish and raw emotion.
Adriana Aguilar softly uttered the words, “Oh my God.” Then, she hugged her little girl who was standing nearby.
“I say thank you God that nothing happened to my daughter or my son.”
The driver of the big rig has been cited in this case.
When we reached out to his family, they told us that he was frustrated that the car in front of him was allegedly taking way too long at the light.
Witnesses say that’s no excuse.
“That shouldn’t have happened. He should have waited,” one woman said. “He could have killed them.”
