AURORA, Colo. (CBS4)- The couple who helped a 5-year-old boy who got on the wrong school bus said they knew something was wrong when they spotted him crying while walking along a busy street.

When school let out at Altura Elementary on Monday, Noreal got on the wrong bus and got off at the wrong stop. The bus dropped him off near Colfax and Laredo, about a mile from his house.

“I just started to walk home,” said Noreal.

Katharine and Gordon Salazar have a young son of their own. When they saw the kindergartener running and crying along Colfax Avenue, wearing only one shoe, they knew they had to help. They pulled over and brought him inside their car.

“He was crying so hard that I don’t think any tears were coming out, he was just hysterical,” said Gordon. “Utter fear.”

“I was really amazed that people wouldn’t stop for a little boy who is 5 years old, running down the side of the road in tears and people just driving past him,” said Katharine.

(credit: CBS)

“They took me home,” said Noreal.

Noreal’s mother, Carmen Betancourt, panicked when she heard her son didn’t get off the bus Monday afternoon. She knew it was cold and getting dark. Her mind began racing.

“Anybody could have picked him up. It was cold, hypothermia could have set in, he could have died,” said Betancourt.

She was emotional as she struggled to find words to express her gratitude to the Salazars.

“Cause I think they saved my son’s life,” said Betancourt.

According to Denver metro area school districts, it’s not uncommon for children to get on the wrong bus. Betancourt believes that something should be done before it happens to another family.

“Something needs to be put in place. These errors cannot happen