Heroes shine at school bus crash

A Douglaston man is being hailed as one of several heroes who pulled bleeding special-education students from their overturned school bus, which was rear-ended by an ex-con allegedly fleeing from the scene of a burglary in a stolen SUV.
When 50-year-old John Anatra spotted the wreck on Douglaston Parkway in Little Neck - the worst he had ever seen - he jumped out of his car to help police officers and another passerby at the scene.
“Of course, I thought you got to get them out. We thought the bus was going to explode,” he said. “I’ve never seen anything like that.”
At that point - about 2:30 p.m. on Tuesday, May 1 - two police officers and a UPS driver, identified in published reports as 40-year-old Peter Aruta, had already pulled out several students. Anatra helped one of the cops pry open the rear emergency exit to get to the rest of the injured children.
“They [the kids] were hysterical,” he said, explaining that paramedics arrived minutes after to take the kids to the hospital.
Meanwhile, another officer caught up with the driver of the second vehicle, Thomas Hernandez, 43, of Brooklyn, who police believe plowed a stolen SUV into the school bus while fleeing from police. Hernandez now faces a litany of charges including burglary, grand larceny, reckless endangerment, assault on an officer and resisting arrest.
As of 8 p.m. on Tuesday, May 1, six of the eight children - students of the Lowell School in Bayside - had been released from the Schneider Children’s Hospital, and two others were still being treated.
Luckily all of the children had been strapped into their seats during the crash, said new Patrol Borough Queens North Commander Diana Pizzuti. Pizzuti spoke the 111th Precinct Community Council meeting after visiting the crash victims in the hospital.
Police said the whole incident began when Hernandez broke into a home near 211th Street and 23rd Avenue in Bayside - part of the 109th Precinct. The property belonged to a police officer. After stealing a safe, Hernandez allegedly stole the officer’s car - a silver Nissan Murano.
Soon afterward, the homeowner returned, saw that the house had been broken into, and called the police, who released information about the Murano to officers in the area, 111th Community Affairs Officer Bill Conway said.
The vehicle was soon spotted by several cop cars on routine patrol and a 70-mile-per-hour chase ensued. The SUV struck the school bus, which had slowed down to allow the speeding vehicle to pass.
The impact of the crash spun the bus around 180 degrees, pushing it into a tree, as it flipped on its side and squashed a street sign. The kids inside were jostled in their seats but soon after, Anatra, the two cops and Aruta came to the rescue.
Meanwhile, Hernandez, who froze for a moment after the airbags in the SUV deployed, hopped out of the vehicle and fled on foot. An officer caught up with him about two blocks away and captured the limping, burglar. The arresting officer needed 10 stitches to his hand for an injury suffered during the arrest.
In the back of the smashed Murano, police recovered the bulky safe.
According to a police source, Hernandez has 59 priors, including an attempted murder charge, all dating back to 1983. The source said that there was an active warrant out for his arrest when he was captured.
From his job in Long Island City, Anatra humbly shrugged off praise for helping out. When asked if he was happy to help, he pointed to the other rescuers for their efforts, particularly those of the passing UPS driver.
“He got on top of that bus fast,” Anatra said. “And, when he was done, he finished his route. Now that’s a driver. He should be commended.”