A 13-year-boy was severely burned when he was set afire on a city bus. And he's alive, thanks to the fast-thinking of the bus driver, who put out the fire with his bare hands.
The boy's in the hospital, the teenagers who allegedly did it are suspended from school and under investigation, and the driver -- is a hero.
Marcus Solis is in the South Beach section of Staten Island.
The device was not quite a firecracker, it was what is called a "jumping jack," which burns very brightly in different colors. That is what the bus driver pulled from the boy's collar.
Some are calling the driver a hero, he says he's not, but he does acknowledge it could have been much worse.
Cono Turchio, Bus Driver: "Once I noticed ... he got to about right here, in the front, I noticed his jacket, two shirts, and the back of his hair was on fire. So then I knew something was out of the ordinary, something's up."
Something was very wrong. Young Tyrone Banks was on fire, burned when someone threw a fireworks device into his coat. It happened on Monday while the boy was riding a city bus home from I.S. 61. As the firework burned, it ignited the teen's clothing and hair on fire. The driver, Cono Turchio, pulled over, reached into Banks' jacket and pulled out the jumping jack. Then he put out the flames.
Cono Turchio: "I just ripped his jacket off him from the front, took it off. And then his two shirts were on fire, I ripped those off, threw them on the floor, I put them out. And then by this time, I had the back door open, the kids were just jumping out of the emergency windows. Because the bus was filling up with smoke."
Tyrone was rushed to Staten Island University Hospital. The eighth-grader who enjoys playing the trumpet underwent skin graft surgery this morning and is in stable condition. Turchio suffered superficial burns on his hands.
The boy's parents are calling the eight-year transit vet their hero.
Cono Turchio: "I was just glad that I was there to help him. Because they were all kids, and I was the only adult there. So I just think if I wasn't there, it would have been a lot worse."
Tyrone's surgery today is said to have gone very well, he is recovering in the hospital.
Meanwhile, three students from I.S. 61 have been suspended for 10 days, they have not been charged criminally but there is a police investigation under way.
