A 10 year-old boy is lucky to be alive after falling out of a moving school bus Wednesday while on his way home from the Mount Pleasant Cottage School.

Police say the accident happened at around 6 p.m. on Sanford Street off of McLean Avenue in Yonkers. Albert Martinez, of Mile Square Transportation, says the boy intentionally opened the back door of the bus before falling out.

Emergency responders were quickly on the scene and rushed the boy to St. Joseph's Hospital in Yonkers. Yonkers police say the child suffered minor injuries.

Martinez says the driver of the bus had slowed down to about 5 to 10 mph as he was heading up a hill, meaning as the child opened the back door, the bus was tilted toward the rear. Martinez says incidents like this can be avoided if children wear their seat belts, but says state law prohibits bus drivers from forcing students to buckle up.

He says he is confident the door did not accidentally open.

Yonkers police are not releasing the child's identity because he is a minor. A spokesperson for the Mount Pleasant Cottage School declined to comment.