'Anything to help': School bus joined turnpike rescue efforts

GREEN SPRINGS — Bob Morris was enjoying a quiet vacation day at home last Friday, Dec. 23, as a winter storm raged. He would soon be in the middle of a disaster zone. Morris, the transportation director for Clyde-Green Springs Schools, was "kind of snoozing" in his chair when he took a call from Clyde's athletic director, Ryan Greenslade, early in the afternoon. Greenslade asked whether Morris would be interested in driving a school bus to the Ohio Turnpike to help evacuate victims of a deadly pileup that left four dead and many injured. "I was ready to go, anything to help," Morris said. "As far as driving, these buses handle good on the snow and ice. Now the whiteout, that's totally different." Greenslade learned about the accident from his daughter Madelynn, who saw the news on social media. Minutes later, he received a call from his brother Adam, who works for the turnpike. "He's never called me for a favor from the turnpike," Greenslade said. "He said, 'Ryan, what are the chances of you getting a bus? We have stranded motorists, and we have to get them off the turnpike.'" Greenslade called Clyde superintendent Lucas Messer to get the OK, and he met Morris at the bus garage next to Green Springs Elementary at about 2:30 p.m. Greenslade then fielded a call from the Clyde Fire Department, which wanted the bus to take a detour. "Several of the wives were making hot dogs, hot coffee and hot chocolate," he said. "They asked if we could stop and grab stuff to take for the victims and for the firemen and first responders. That's what Clyde and Green Springs are all about. "There were 47 vehicles out there with people that needed help. What if that was your family member? Wouldn't you want somebody to step up and help them out? That's been the consensus the last few days with people reaching out and saying thank you." 'Mangled mess' Morris steered the big International school bus out of its garage and headed north. The day's first obstacle was a stranded car that Greenslade helped push out of harm's way. After loading up with supplies at the fire station, the two arrived at the turnpike and were escorted to the wreckage — "it was three or four football fields long," Greenslade said — by a state trooper. An intense whiteout had produced a pileup on the eastbound side of the highway in Erie County. It looked like something out of a movie scene. "We sat 50 feet from the beginning of it," Greenslade said. "We watched some gruesome stuff. They literally hoisted (Ford) F-150s up in the air and it looked like they were smashing a can. If you didn't know it was an F-150 you wouldn't have known it was an F-150. It was a mangled mess. There was debris everywhere, both sides of the turnpike." The bus sat for a while. It was too big to maneuver around the wreckage. "With the big buses, it was almost impossible to weave in and out and get close," Greenslade said. "They used smaller buses to do that. We went back to the (Castalia) maintenance building. They were taking everybody there to get their statements and find out what cars they were in. They were trying to piece that pileup together. "Once they gave the green light, we started loading people on the buses." Morris headed west to U.S. 250 with a trooper escort. Winds reached 60 mph with wind chills well below zero. "The state trooper was in front of us, and, after awhile, we couldn't see him at all," Greenslade said. "We were moving along, and you'd hit that complete whiteout. The tension on the bus was evident." The drive was a challenge in poor visibility as the bus swayed along the highway, using a few lanes along the way. "There were some bad spots," Morris said. "I think it scared Ryan a few times." Said Greenslade: "There were a few times when I was glad he was driving." The bus made stops at several hotels from the turnpike into Sandusky. When the second load of victims was ready, Morris and Greenslade hadn't returned to the maintenance building. Adam Greenslade called his brother. "He asked where we were at because they were ready for another load," Greenslade said. "I said, 'Adam, we're still on our way to the Thirsty Pony.' My brother, joking, said, 'You're not supposed to be going to the Thirsty Pony.' It was our last stop. We had two couples that had booked reservations there." Thankful passengers As the day wore on, conditions deteriorated. Morris and Greenslade marveled at the efforts of the first responders and tow truck operators, who were at the scene for several hours. "Most of them were outside the entire time. Those were the heroes," Greenslade said. "They saved a lot of people who may not have made it. They had the training and sprang into action. "It's amazing more people weren't killed or severely injured or in those temperatures even freezing to death." Greenslade said many people were appreciative of the Clyde volunteers. One man from Michigan, whose parents were in the car in front of his family, was worried about his father. "They were very nice people considering what they were going through," Greenslade said. "This guy couldn't thank Bob and I enough for being there to take them. All he wanted to do was get his family checked in (at a hotel) and go to the hospital to see his dad." One elderly gentleman provided some good advice during the second trip later that night. "We had an older gentleman who was in one of the very last vehicles in the pileup," Greenslade said. "I made a comment to Bob about driving and he says, 'I don't care how slow you gotta go. Take your time, just get us to the hotel.' It was just kind of calming." Word of the Clyde bus trip spread on social media. Superintendent Messer felt compelled to post something after people questioned why the bus was on the road. It was no joy ride. "Lucas said, 'This is the most positive social media message I've ever put out,'" Greenslade said. Morris estimated that the bus transported about 75 victims and a lot of luggage. He also helped some dogs, birds and a gerbil. "I wasn't going to haul any snakes," he joked. After making two trips, the two headed back to Clyde at about 9 p.m. The highway patrol allowed them to use the turnpike, a gesture for which they were thankful. Upon returning to their homes in Green Springs, they reflected on a long, hard day. Greenslade appreciated Morris' steady hand. "First responders sign up for it; they know what they're getting into," Greenslade said. "For me to call Bob and for him to say, 'Yeah, give me five minutes and I'll meet you at the bus garage…' He didn't even hesitate. He's very humble when he says he drives in this and he's comfortable." Morris and Greenslade have received pats on the back throughout the week after joining the turnpike rescue efforts in brutal conditions. They appreciate the gestures, but quickly tamp down any hero talk. "I know if I was out there in the cold I'd appreciate the help, but I definitely don't feel like a hero," Morris said. "I just drove a bus."