The 14-year-old male suspect was detained by the Fredericton Police Force at about 10 p.m. on Saturday after the vehicle was stopped using a spike strip following a chase, which lasted about 30 minutes, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) reported.
According to investigators, the school bus was stolen from a Department of Transportation compound in New Brunswick. Sergeant Tim Sowers told CBC the chase was briefly called off due to dangerous traffic conditions and the bus had multiple close calls with other vehicles.
“It certainly was a precarious situation,” the sergeant said, noting the driver refused to exit the bus after the chase ended. “We’re lucky that more people weren’t seriously injured.
“They had to break the glass out of the door of the bus as I understand in order to get access to the door to open it up and the young man was taken into custody without incident.”
Sergeant Sowers said two police patrol cars had been damaged after making contact with the stolen school vehicle. A police spokesperson told Newsweek the teen is facing charges of theft of a vehicle, dangerous driving, flight, mischief over $5000 and assault of a police officer.
A similar incident occurred back in April at Peacekeepers Way after police detained a man, 40, who stole a school bus and sparked a brief chase. As reported by CBC at the time, the suspect was arrested at gunpoint after it was confirmed he had several outstanding warrants.
Last Wednesday, police in Louisiana arrested a 30-year-old man in connection with the theft of school buses in Livingston Parish. Zachary Anderson, of Denham Springs, was taken into custody after being captured on the vehicle’s surveillance system.
According to Sheriff Jason Ard, the suspect took one school bus for a joyride before driving it back to its original location. The suspect then entered a second bus which had been parked at the same section of the road and drove off. The vehicle was recovered the next day.
Last Monday, police in Kentucky announced the arrest of a 35-year-old woman called Teresa Wells who allegedly stole a school bus from an elementary school in Cawood.
A school district employee was able to get her to stop the bus before authorities arrived, but Wells refused to exit the vehicle and appeared to be under the influence.
According to the Lexington Herald Leader, Wells was detained in May for public intoxication of a controlled substance and found guilty last month. According to an arrest report, a person called to complain Wells stabbed him with a pencil. The woman, who was “sweating heavily” when confronted, told a deputy that he “could not see her because she was invisible.”
