'A blessing no one was hurt': Collapsed tree nearly splits school bus in half in Mississippi

A school bus driver in Mississippi made an unexpected stop after a tree fell and nearly split the vehicle in half.

The driver finished dropping off the last child of the day when the tree halted his route Wednesday afternoon, according to Jones County School District Superintendent B.R. Jones. He was not injured.

The employee was driving around 20 to 25 miles per hour when the bus suddenly stopped on the county line of Jones and Jasper counties in southern Mississippi, Jones said.

"As he looked up he saw that in the rearview mirror, of course, after hearing all the confusion and commotion behind that there was actually a tree about midway had fallen into the bus," Jones told USA TODAY on Friday.

The oak tree severely damaged the vehicle, ripping through the roof and crushing the inside, he added.

Bus was just purchased few months ago

Jones said the district had just purchased the bus a few months before the incident. The district has spare school buses to use and has plans to replace the destroyed one.

As for the tree itself, Jones explained that it was not rotten by any means but somehow collapsed with enough force to cause significant damage.

"It was just so out of the ordinary. You never anticipate or even think something like that could occur. And it's just a blessing that no one was injured and no one was hurt," he said.

The driver is doing well after the incident and is grateful for the "the outpouring of support" he received from the community, Jones added.