The “Stronger” singer reached for multiple tissues during her heartfelt discussion with the courageous Kerrville bus drivers who saved 900 children during the Texas floods in July.
Kelly Clarkson struggled to hold back tears during the season 7 premiere of her talk show while speaking with heroic bus drivers who navigated dangerous roads to rescue children amid this summer’s deadly Texas flash floods.
The 43-year-old singer and Texas native wiped her eyes as she spoke with Kerrville school district superintendent Dr. Brent Ringo about the devastation caused by the July 4 flooding which claimed at least 135 lives and left more missing and its impact on the community and summer camps, including Camp Mystic.
“We activated our emergency operations plan in Kerrville ISD and sent out a text: ‘Anyone that can drive a bus?’” Ringo recalled on The Kelly Clarkson Show. “Within 10 to 15 minutes, a bus driver, a coach, a high school principal, our middle school assistant principal, assistant superintendents all responded that they were on their way.”
Clarkson then welcomed some of the drivers onstage, including teacher Amanda, who shared her reasons for answering the call for help on July 4.
“All day, people just wanted to help, and we wanted to stay out of the way of first responders,” Amanda said. “So when we got that call, everyone just jumped in ‘Give me the keys!’ It felt like a normal day, just picking up kids.”
Amanda grew emotional as she recounted rescuing children from Camp Mystic, where 27 girls and counselors tragically lost their lives in the flood. “We took them to the reunification process basically triage to make sure everyone was okay,” she explained. “They even had to take pictures to track which kids we had, because parents were in complete shock and didn’t know who was safe.”
She added, “It was wonderful to see the parents reunited with their children. The hardest moment was when the last kid got off the bus, and parents asked, ‘Was that it?’ That was really tough.”
Clarkson, who shares two children with her late ex Brandon Blackstock, was visibly emotional, dabbing her eyes with a tissue as Amanda recounted the events. “And looking at the parents, I can’t…” Clarkson began, struggling to speak, and Amanda quietly replied, “Yeah, it’s awful.”
The season 7 premiere marked Clarkson’s first episode back since taking a hiatus following Blackstock’s death on August 7. She had also withdrawn from an August 17 benefit concert for Texas flood victims due to his passing.
The three-time Grammy winner continued to shed tears on Monday’s episode as Geri, another Kerrville bus driver, shared that the children on her bus comforted one another by singing Christian songs.
“Driving through all that devastation it was catastrophic but they comforted each other,” Geri explained, with Clarkson adding that it was a “therapeutic way to stay calm” amid the chaos.
After the commercial break, Clarkson noted that the bus drivers rescued a total of 900 children stranded by the floods over the following days, pausing to give them a heartfelt round of applause.
“Our drivers are more than just drivers they’re heroes,” Ringo said. “I know if I love on them, they’ll love on our kids, and that’s exactly what they did that day. It makes me so proud to see their support and willingness to step up at a moment’s notice, not even knowing what they were getting into, and help 900 campers.”
Clarkson dabbed at her tears as Ringo shared that the community is still processing the loss “day by day.” He explained, “It’s going to be a long-term recovery, and this year we made sure all 5,000 kids received backpacks and school supplies. We wanted to take that burden off our parents as much as possible, and the outpouring of support helped make that happen.”
The focus now is on supporting families and their emotional needs. “Everybody knows someone who has lost someone, so we have counselors in our schools and outside, making sure families are cared for on their own time,” Ringo said. “It will be a long-term recovery process to ensure everyone is supported.”
Clarkson then introduced Lacey, public affairs manager for Texas supermarket chain H-E-B, who announced that the company will continue its relief efforts with a $50,000 donation to the Children’s Bereavement Center of South Texas and an additional $50,000 to the Kerrville Public School Foundation.
Clarkson praised the bus drivers as “heroes,” adding, “In moments like this, the least we can do is say thank you and show our support. That’s what it’s all about. Thank you for everything you’ve done for our kids every day.”
The Kelly Clarkson Show airs weekdays in syndication.