MAX bus No. 4501 on Route 45 from Bessemer to Fairfield was driving along Martin Luther King Drive when it appears the driver may have suffered a medical emergency and the bus careened into a 30-feet ravine.

What followed was chaos inside the plummeting bus, and more than an hour of intense rescues by more than 100 first responders from nearly a half dozen surrounding municipalities. The driver, Reginald Thomas, and 19 passengers were taken to area hospitals. No fatalities had been reported by 2:30 p.m.

Cleo Bearden was driving directly behind the MAX bus when the wreck happened. "I thought I was dreaming,'' Bearden said. "I said, 'I know that bus didn't just run off the road.'''

Bearden said he stopped his van and grabbed his ladder. He and another man did their best to try to reach the passengers inside the toppled bus, which came to rest on it's right side.

Passenger Zack Thompson, 22, described a harrowing few moments from inside the bus. "I didn't blink,'' Thompson said. "I saw the whole thing."

Passengers said there was a woman waiting at the nearby bus stop, and at first they didn't understand why the driver didn't stop to pick her up. Then, Thompson said, Thomas started to cough. "I heard a woman on the bus scream that the driver was having a seizure,'' he said. "I felt the bus going rocky, and then we were in the ditch."

Thompson said many of the passengers started to scream. "It was scary,'' he said. "It's by the grace of God I only got minor injuries. I think that was so I could help."

Fairfield Fire Chief Kevin Sutton said firefighters and police quickly arrived on the scene and assessed the situation. "It's not a pretty sight,'' he said of the crash.

The driver was trapped in his seat, and a female passenger was trapped under the front of the bus. Other passengers, Sutton said, were initially trapped under seats and many of the older riders simple could not get out on their own. "It was a major incident,'' he said.

Police officers and firefighters, including Fairfield Police Chief Leon Davis and Chief Sutton, pulled the passengers out one by one through a broken window on the bus after using the Jaws of Life to gain entry. They used a ladder as a bridge of sorts for those who could scoot to safety.

Other passengers, those unable to walk on their own, were put into rescue baskets and pulled up the embankment to waiting stretchers. Rescue workers used a pulley system to raise the rescue baskets.

Authorities had to cut back tree limbs to make a path for retrieving the victims. "It was a massive rescue,'' said Birmingham Fire and Rescue spokesman Lt. Bryan Harrell. "First we had to stabilize the bus."

There was initial concern that gasoline was leaking into the ditch, which had just a small amount of water in it. Harrell said authorities were pleased to learn the bus ran on natural gas, not diesel fuel. Jefferson County Emergency Management Agency officials were on scene to monitor possible hazards.

All of the passengers and the drivers were removed by 12:47 p.m. Thomas, the driver, was among the last pulled from the wreckage with apparent injuries.

"He's one of our best drivers" said Barbara Murdock, chief of staff for the Birmingham Jefferson County Transit Authority. Passengers say Thomas, a longtime driver, is diabetic. It appears he had a seizure before the crash. Murdock said that could not yet be confirmed.

A UAB Hospital spokeswoman said Thomas was among the victims taken to UAB. He was still being evaluated by trauma doctors there about 2:30 p.m. and no condition was yet available. He was preparing to undergo surgery this afternoon.

Bus driver Reginald Thompson was just pulled from bus; several broken bones pic.twitter.com/ozn4HA97HF — carol robinson (@RobinsonCarol) February 9, 2015

There were at least 20 fire trucks and rescue units on the scene - including help from Birmingham, Midfield and Brighton. Four ambulance companies responded to transport the injured, most of whom were being sent to UAB Hospital.

Fairfield Mayor Kenneth Coachman said the rescue went well. "We have been so fortunate to have help from all of the surrounding cities,'' he said at the scene. "Things are running as smoothly as possible out here. We feel quite fortunate that all of the parties are at the table."

Sutton said firefighters and police would be on the scene for much of the say. Some of the injuries were serious, he said, but most appeared to be minor. "It definitely could have been worse,'' the fire chief said. "We don't have any fatalities, and we didn't have any rescue workers injured."

Reporting via

from the scene.

Rescues continuing in Fairfield pic.twitter.com/aFgL4xsp9D — carol robinson (@RobinsonCarol) February 9, 2015

Updated at 3 p.m. to add photos and additional information.