A tour bus was badly burned after it suddenly caught fire Sunday morning, causing major traffic trouble along Interstate 95 in Volusia County.
A group of German tourists aboard had quite the scare.
Troopers said everyone on the bus managed to get off safely, and no one was injured.
The American Coach tour bus was taking a group of 48 German tourists to St. Augustine for a day trip.
Their unexpected adventure began just after passing Ormond Beach around 10 a.m. Sunday.
"The wheel make boom and we stop the bus," described German tourist Kathryn Bekker.
"But then shortly after that happened, it smelled like smoke a little bit in the bus. And then the driver told us to evacuate," said tour director Hermine Bogler.
Those tourists were stranded for several hours until a replacement bus could arrive and take them to St. Augustine.
The tour guide, who was celebrating her birthday, was anxious to show them what most of the U.S. was celebrating that day.
A spokesman for Florida Highway Patrol said both the tire blowout and the fire were products of a freak mechanical failure.
The tourist group was in the state as part of an eight day Florida tour.