NEW BRIGHTON, Minn. -- A bus driver and several bystanders helped save five disabled adults after their bus burst into flames in New Brighton.

Authorities said the bus was on Interstate 694 on Wednesday afternoon when the engine died, leaving the driver to coast it into a parking lot.

Heavy smoke appeared as the van caught fire with five passengers aboard, four of whom were in wheelchairs.

The driver stayed on the bus to help the wheelchair-bound passengers out because she knew how to free them. New Brighton Deputy Director of Public Safety John Ellickson called the unidentified driver a hero.

People and nearby stores grabbed fire extinguishers and rushed to help get the passengers out. Less than a minute later, the passenger section of the van went up in flames.

No one was seriously hurt.