The morning of February 27 started like any other for Dorian Pace. For eleven years, he had driven the familiar streets of Cleveland Heights, picking up students and delivering them safely to school. But that morning, just minutes into his route to Monticello Middle School, routine turned into chaos.

As his school bus rolled toward Monticello Middle School, a sudden boom rattled the vehicle. The 11-year veteran driver’s heart pounded. Then, another boom—this time, smoke billowed from the right rear tire. And then, flames.

Pace didn’t hesitate. Training and instinct kicked in. “Bus evacuation mode,” he called it later. “Everybody off the bus!” he remembered saying.

The students, some unaware of the danger, followed his urgent voice. As they hurried down the front steps, the fire spread rapidly, licking up the side of the bus. By the time the last child was off, the vehicle was engulfed.

Parents were called. Witnesses gasped. “I heard a big boom,” said Maureen Ottman, watching from her window. “Then I saw flames.”
Thankfully, not a single child was harmed, and in the days that followed, the community hailed Pace a hero. Andy Wilson, from Ohio’s Department of Public Safety, put it best: “I would feel such comfort putting my kids on one of your buses.”

Pace, ever humble, had his own take: “I pray on the bus every day. God answered my prayers.”
And just like that, by Friday, he was back behind the wheel—because heroes don’t just save lives. They keep showing up.