PERRY COUNTY, Ohio (WCMH) — Four people are still recovering in the hospital after a school bus crash in Perry County Thursday.

Investigators said Joseph Thornton was driving on a suspended license when he ran a red light and struck the bus that morning, injuring eight students.

The morning of Dec. 19, 2019, was just like any other morning for Rain Wiseman until she got on the bus. She says she was in listening to music, minding her own business for the beginning of the ride.

“At first I was like, ‘Oh we hit a patch of ice, we’re fine,'” Wiseman said.

She quickly realized what was really happening.

“The next thing I know, I hear that gravel sound when the bus started to go off of the road,” she said. “The smell. The burning rubber smell, I remember that. I also can’t forget all the screaming.”

“Everyone obviously hit the ceiling because we flipped more than once,” Wiseman added.

She says when the bus finally landed, at least two dozen strangers were there helping everyone off of the bus.

“They stopped for no reason other than kindness and compassion,” Wiseman said. 

She is grateful no one died in that crash but some of her friends’ lives will never be the same.

“Some broke major bones and some even broke their necks and are still in the hospital,” Wiseman said.

“The mental part of it is the hardest part; it’s worse than any injury I could have got,” she added.