Three short buses were stolen from a Bronx parking garage, police said, after a similar incident over the weekend.
The theft took place around 12:30 a.m. Tuesday along Blondell Avenue near Chesbrough Avenue in the Westchester Square neighborhood, according to police. Three or four suspects, all males, allegedly broke into the garage and took off with the buses owned by Leesel Transportation.
Police had no further information regarding the thefts, though surveillance video showed how the group pulled it off. A bus driver said the group took off with three buses — each of which had the keys inside, he said, which is done in case the regularly scheduled bus driver can't show up the next day. One of the suspects then rammed the gate in order to get the vehicles out.
The driver suspected the group took the buses for a joyride. He added that the stolen buses were spares, so no students had their rides to school impacted Tuesday morning.
A camera and GPS automatically switch on when the buses are running, according to the driver. The manager for the bus company said one of the vehicles had been recovered after being left in front of a school in Crotona Park. There was another bus the company manager believed was still in the hands of the suspect, as GPS showed traveling in Springfield Gardens, Queens.
The incident comes after a school bus was stolen from the very same lot Sunday morning as well. It was not immediately clear if the same group is behind both incidents.
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No arrests have been made in either case, as police are still hunting for the alleged thieves. Investigations are ongoing.
