The morning routine for a South Carolina bus driver, Kenneth Corbin, took an unexpected turn when an armed man, Jovan Collazo, a 23-year-old Army trainee from New Jersey, hijacked the bus with 18 children on board. With the safety of the children as his primary concern, Corbin complied with the hijacker’s orders, but what he didn’t expect was that the children would play their part in their own defense. In the midst of the chaos, the children’s insatiable curiosity saved the day.
Corbin, in an interview with Good Morning America, recounted how the children’s constant questioning and relentless inquiry was too much for the hijacker to handle. In just six minutes, the hijacker gave up and ordered Corbin to pull over and get off the bus with all 18 children.
“The kids were the ones that actually got the gentleman off of the bus and they pretty much had my back as much as my concerns were with them,” said Corbin. “At the end when they started questioning him, it seemed to have frustrated him because his main objective was to get to the next town, but I think we were only on the road about four miles and he just got frustrated with the questions and just told me to stop the bus and get off. All y’all get off now.”
Collazo aimed a rifle at Corbin’s head and ordered him to drive off with 18 children in tow. Corbin did exactly what the hijacker said, fearing for his own life and the safety of the innocent children. Corbin says the hijacker moved all the students up front so he could keep them in close proximity. But, it was at this point that the children’s curious nature proved to be both a distraction and an annoyance too torturous for the hijacker.
The children asked him questions, including if he was a soldier and if he was going to hurt them. The hijacker apparently grew overwhelmed and gave up answering after a few minutes of interrogation.
“He sensed more questions coming and I guess something clicked in his mind and he said, ‘enough is enough already,’ and he told me to ‘stop the bus and just get off,'” said Corbin.
After driving just 4 miles, Collazo forced Corbin to pull over and get off the bus with all the children. A witness said none of the children were crying and that the older students were consoling the younger ones.
Fort Jackson officials confirmed that Collazo’s rifle would have been unloaded as he didn’t have access to any ammunition while in training. The base issued an apology for “a failure in accountability procedures,” but didn’t comment further.
Corbin, who has been hailed as a hero, did his best to protect his precious cargo. “It was so evident that they were precious cargo and I pretty much just had to do whatever — to get them off the bus safe and sound,” he said.
Collazo was arrested and charged with 19 counts of kidnapping, which included Corbin and the 18 children on board. Corbin is relieved that the children are all safe and is able to laugh off the experience now that it’s all over. However, he acknowledges that things could’ve been much worse.
WATCH the video below for more details:
Sources: Taphaps, Good Morning America, WIS-TV
