when everybody started pushing on everybody to go one way." Another remembered startling awake after the accident and attempting to escape through a window but it refused to open, before rushing to the back. Survivors stated that after emptying the small fire extinguisher, Pearman helped some of the many children find their way down the narrow and dark aisle to the only practical way out of the smoke-filled bus. According to the NTSB investigation, more than 60 persons trying to reach the only available exit (the rear emergency door) created a crush of bodies in the 12 inch-wide aisle. Many passengers found themselves unable to move. A beverage cooler which had been earlier placed in the aisle near row 10 (of 11 rows of seats) further exacerbated this problem. A pileup of passengers formed in and adjacent to the aisle leading to the rear door, which was partially blocked by seat backs from the last row and a cooler stored in the aisle near row 10. Attempts by some of the other passengers to break or kick out any of the split-sash-type side windows were unsuccessful. Only one adult, a woman who was of small stature, managed to escape through a opening side window. When she looked back up from the ground, the window opening was filled with flames. The other three adults aboard, including Pearman, died. Passersby and some of the escaped passengers helped to extract immobilized children through the rear door, and help them to ground level about below. A survivor recounted how when he reached the back door; "Someone on the outside grabbed my arm, put their foot on the bumper and literally pulled me out. I hit the asphalt and started running...I could hear the screams and the explosions." However, within four minutes or less, the entire bus was on fire, and soon the exodus of passengers stopped. At that point, the passersby who had stopped to help could not reach those still aboard due to the raging fire, and turned their efforts to tending to the crowd of 40 mostly injured survivors. Soon the entire interior of the bus flashed over, ultimately burning the trapped 27 people remaining aboard. At that point, no more passengers were accessible from outside the bus. After fire, rescue, and Kentucky State Police troopers responded to the scene, treated and transported survivors, and extinguished the fire, a crane was used