Heros pulled children to safety

BLUE HILL -- Becky Alber was sitting on her son Marty's porch Wednesday afternoon, waiting for the bus to deliver her granddaughter, Taylor, when she saw the sky light up in flames.
"It was like a bomb went off," she said.
Flames shot 30 to 40 feet in the air, the result of a crash involving a school bus and semitrailer that killed two students from Blue Hill Community Schools and drivers of both vehicles and injured five other students.
Alber called 911, then  her husband, Gerald, who drove to the intersection where he saw four to five children who had been pulled from the bus and put in a pickup.
 Phil Petr, 46, was driving behind Witte and the semi loaded with hay bales as it headed north up the  gravel road . He slowed down as he approached the intersection because he could see the dust cloud roiled by the eastbound bus.When he saw the truck collide with the Blue Hill school bus, Phil Petr jumped from his pickup to help children trapped in the wreckage.
That doesn't make him a hero, according to Phil.
It just means he's human.  Many don't agree.   As he saw the little faces looking at him through the window he felt there was no choice.
As he ran to the wreckage, Petr encountered one boy who had gotten out of the bus, although he's not sure how. The boy said others were still inside.
By now, the tinder-dry grass in the ditch had caught fire.
Petr tried the main side door, but it wouldn't open. Hay bales blocked his path to the back door of the upright bus.
So he returned to his pickup for a pry bar.
By then, Meyer, who was dropping off mineral blocks to cattle less than a half-mile away, had arrived.
The men used the bar to smash four of the passenger windows, but the terrified children wouldn't come to them.
Meyer boosted the 6-foot-4 Petr so he could get inside. Once in, he handed out three of the surviving children to Meyer, one by one.
Meanwhile, the fourth child crawled out through broken glass at the bottom of the main door.
By then, the smoke was overwhelming and flames would soon engulf both vehicles. Volunteer rescuers also started arriving to care for the injured children.
“It was so fast,” Petr said. “It gives me the chills just talking about it.”
The crash claimed the lives of students Caroline Thallman, 10, and Dustin Tesdahl, 18, both of Blue Hill. Also killed were semi driver Travis Witte, 21, of Blue Hill, and bus driver Marla Wentworth, 59, of Red Cloud. All four died at the scene.
The five survivors all were taken to area hospitals, two were admitted and one was flown to Children's Hospital & Medical Center in Omaha. All are now home.
Meyer, 54, also waved off the word “hero” when asked about the ordeal. He called himself a good Samaritan who did what anyone would do for children in trouble.
“We're getting way too much recognition for the passers-by,” he said.
“Hero” should be reserved for those who don't risk their safety by happenstance, Meyer said.
He said he stands in true admiration of volunteer firefighters and rescuers who put themselves in harm's way to help others, time after time.
“Heroes are the people who wear pagers,” he said, “and we owe them our gratitude and support.”
 Three little girls, Taylor Alber, Allie Thallman, and Addi Keihl and two brothers, Cody and Kyle Hubl survive the crash. 
About 300 people came together for a candlelight memorial service Thursday evening.  They remembered people who died: Caroline Thallman, 10, and Dustin Tesdahl, 18, both from near Rosemont, semi driver Travis Witte, 21,  and bus driver Marla Wentworth, 59, of Red Cloud, all who died at the scene.
The Hubl brothers  and two girls were taken to Mary Lanning hospital in Hasting.
 Allie Thallman, Caroline's younger sister, suffered cuts to her face and a deep cut to her head, she was released from the hospital to return home Friday.
Taylor Alber, 7, was flown to Children's Hospital in Omaha. She has undergone surgery to putting  pins in two breaks in her arm. She also had a collapsed lung, which doctors reinflated, and damage to her liver, which appeared to be healing,. Elysbeth Keihl took her daughter Addie, to Broadstone Hospital in Superior where she was treated and released.
Travis Witte's father, Norm, had been hauling hay with his son and had arrived at their home before Travis. Then he saw smoke and returned  to the scene.
.Travis Witte was driving north on Road 1800 and collided with the school bus heading east on County Road R, nearing the end of its route. . There are no stop signs at the intersection.
It appeared the semi truck hit the bus behind the front door, and the force pushed it into a power pole, knocking it over. Both the truck and bus ended up northeast of the intersection in a field or ditch, engulfed in flames.
Rescue crews from Blue Hill, Lawrence, Bladen and Red Cloud responded to the scene. Among the volunteer firefighters was Travis' cousin, .
Classes resumed Thursday at Blue Hill schools.
The four bus routes ran as usual, but some parents chose to drive their kids to school. Homeroom teachers read statements prepared by a crisis team.
Counselors from Blue Hill, Silver Lake, Minden, Superior and Red Cloud -- along with volunteer educators and clergy -- were available to talk to grieving students.
The school canceled activities for Thursday and  but decided it best to continue with Friday's schedule.
The Blue Hill school has about 330 students in grades K-12, but fewer than half of them typically take the bus. The bus that crashed Wednesday usually carries 18 to 20 students.  Some of the children had already been delivered to their home others chose not to ride the bus Wednesday evening for various reasons.