A school bus carrying 27 elementary school students crashed into a lake in north Tampa Thursday afternoon.
The crash happened in the area of Kingsmill Place and Nine Eagles Drive near Race Track Road.
Deputies said the bus was carrying children from Mary E. Bryant Elementary School.
"Everybody was freaking out," said Joey Batdorff, whose son was on the bus. "People were running everywhere."
Batdorff said his son described to him what happened.
"He said, 'it's like a roller coaster daddy. I don't know. The bus started going faster and faster. We hit the tree and flipped over and ended up in the lake,'" he said.
School officials said many of the children got out on their own with the bus driver guiding them.
"The driver was actually saying, 'the front of the bus is open, come this way, come this way,' so the kids were able to follow his directions," said Tanya Arja with Hillsborough County Schools.
Witnesses helped as well.
When deputies arrived, they also dove in to make sure no children were trapped.
"We actually went underneath the water and did an individual sweep under each seat to feel around and make sure there were no kids trapped up under the seat or anything," said Deputy Steve Favors.
All students and the bus drive have been accounted for. Deputies said no one was seriously injured.
The cause of the crash is under investigation.
The crash happened in the area of Kingsmill Place and Nine Eagles Drive in north Tampa. (Laurie Davison, Staff)