Stolen SEPTA bus plows into parking lot

    A 16-year old boy is in custody after skipping school, stealing a SEPTA bus and crashing into several cars on a joyride through a packed parking lot.
    It all began at 11:25 this morning, when Upper Darby Police were notified that an empty SEPTA bus was stolen from a depot on Victory Avenue.

    A 16-year old boy is in custody after skipping school, stealing a SEPTA bus and crashing into several cars on a joyride through a packed parking lot. WHYY’s Megan Pinto reports. [audio:100317MPBUS.mp3]

    It all began at 11:25 this morning, when Upper Darby Police were notified that an empty SEPTA bus was stolen from a depot on Victory Avenue.

    Two officers saw the bus a few blocks away and chased it down Market Street. That’s when the 16-year-old driver, whom police referred to as mentally challenged, made a quick u-turn over a curb, through concrete barriers, and into a packed parking lot.

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    Many cars were demolished and towed after the crash

    Upper Darby Police Superintendent Mike Chitwood says about 20 vehicles were demolished.

    Chitwood: This is the first time I’ve had a SEPTA bus stolen and then crash the way it almost like a roller derby type thing, I mean it looked like a stock car race, with all the demolition derby would be the best way to describe it.

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    The SEPTA bus leaves a path of broken guard rails behind after crashing through a row of cars

    Gerry Mayo was cutting hair at the Endless Beauty Salon in Upper Darby when she heard the news from one of her clients.  After running outside, she noticed her RAV-4 was was one of the last cars to be hit.

    Mayo: It was devastating, just devastating and looking at the cars tossed all over like smashed up little toys all over the place it’s just unreal.

    Police say the SEPTA bus was left running and unattended in the depot before being stolen.

    No injuries have been reported.

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