Vicious prank turns to horror, until heroic driver puts out flames with his hands By PETE DONOHUE and ALISON GENDAR NY DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITERS Tyrone Banks, 13, trumpet player at school, narrowly avoided life-threatening injuries after he was set ablaze by firecracker on bus. A Staten Island honor student was set ablaze on a city bus by a firecracker, badly burning him as his screaming classmates leaped out windows. Tyrone Banks, 13, was saved by brave bus driver Cono Turchio, who beat out the flames with his hands as the bus filled with choking smoke. "He saved my son's life," Tyrone's grateful father said yesterday. Tyrone, who is due to undergo painful skin graft surgery today, described for the Daily News yesterday the horror of his Monday afternoon ride aboard the S-42 bus. A student at Intermediate School 61, Tyrone was riding home when he heard three troublemakers behind him - two girls and a boy - plotting to light a firecracker on the packed bus. Tyrone, an honor student and trumpet player at the school, moved away from the thugs and was preparing to get off the bus when he felt something hot against the back of his neck. "They lit up a firecracker, one of those pretty big ones, and it drops down my coat, and I can't get the coat off, and I'm really scared," the teen recalled yesterday from his room at Staten Island University Hospital. "It didn't hurt - at first. I guess I was too scared to feel it. My coat was burning and it just wouldn't come off," he said. "I ran screaming to the bus driver." As Tyrone dashed to the front of the bus, about 30 kids jumped out windows, while others cowered in the back. Driver Turchio, 30, of Staten Island, turned to see Tyrone's coat - and the back of the teen's hair - ablaze. "Flames were shooting out of the back of his neck," the eight-year Transit Authority veteran said. "I grabbed him because he was running around. I pulled the back of his jacket, the collar, and reached inside and pulled the firework out. I burned my hand," Turchio said. But Tyrone's clothes were still on fire. So Turchio ripped off the teen's burning coat, shirt and, finally, the smoldering undershirt. Turchio then patted out the flames that had crept 2 inches into the boy's hairline. "The skin was just peeling off him from the top of his back up to lower neck. This kid was in a lot of pain," said Turchio, the father of a year-old girl. Luckily, the bus was stopped at Brighton Ave. and Jersey St., where police routinely have a patrol when school gets out, so Tyrone was quickly bundled into an ambulance. That's when the pain hit, the teen said. "I guess up till then, I was too scared to feel it," Tyrone said. He is set to have an operation today to graft skin from his thigh onto his damaged neck, left shoulder and back. He will have to spend another week or more in the hospital to make sure the burns don't get infected, and then more time in rehab. His parents are unsure when he will be able to return to school and resume playing his trumpet in the school's jazz and symphonic bands. Two of the reckless trio who lighted the firecracker have been suspended from school for 10 days, a Department of Education spokeswoman said. No information was available yesterday on the fate of the third. None has been identified. While Tyrone's parents are furious at the kids, Turchio is their hero. "Without him, who knows how much worse the burns would be?" Tyrone's mother, Celina, said.
No kidding! I would be loving a 10 day suspension. Stay at home and play my gaming console, watch TV, etc. while the parents are at work. I remember in middle school in my math class I said a curse word(the word was cr*p...big whoop) out loud once. I didn't like the new assigned seating arrangement she had drawn up for the class(ugh...cause it sucked hard). The teacher heard, got pissed, and sent me to the assistant principal's office. The assistant principal then tells me for the next 3 days I had to report to his office. He then would give me some bs tasks to do...like minor clean-up work. He did not supervise my work. So, I basically got to do whatever in the halls of the school during that class/period while they were stuck in the math class doing math. That was real tough punishment. I was like, "Thank you sir...may I have another!" .
Yeah but usually with out of school suspension you don't get to make up any work and 10 days is two weeks school time so he will miss half a months work which won't be good for him. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying his punishment was fair because it certainly wasn't but while he's sitting at home playing around his grades are going right down the toilet but to do what he did he's more than likely an idiot anyway.
No kidding! A better one would be to put firecrackers in each of their asses and let the bus load of people watch and laugh. I would say they would have learned their lesson.
not trying to get away from the subject at hand, but is this considered professional journalism? The way it's worded, it's as if a junior high or high school kid was writing it.
not trying to get away from the subject at hand, but is this considered professional journalism? The way it's worded, it's as if a junior high or high school kid was writing it.
how the hell do you only get a 10 day suspension for that?? jesus the kid was getting ready to become a human torch if no one would have done anything. my friend got a bj at school one time in the 8th grade and he got suspended for a week. i guess this is only twice as bad as that. i'm guessing criminal charges have to be coming or at least something more that the article didn't talk about.
Those 3 beyotches need to go to Juvie at least, and if they only get 10 day suspensions, then the parents should sue parents of the 3 kids to at least get them to pay for the medical bills.
Damn, it was like these 3 "thugs" had seen too many old Tom & Jerry cartoons and thought that lighting firecrackers and putting them down people's shirts was a norm thing to do. But, yea, getting only 10 days for that is pretty cr*ppy (just for you, Surf!)
How about 10 days of taking care of this kid in the hospital and 10 days of living with his parents . . having to see the anger and near violence in their eyes everyday how about 10 days working in a burn unit 10 days . .you can do alot in 10 days R Rocket River
