Thief Nabs $27K Of Fuel From School Bus Company, Clogs Ignitions
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) – A brazen theft at a school bus company – and the thieves had plenty of fuel for their getaway.
In fact, they had 9,000 gallons of diesel.
So how did they do it?
Preparing for the first day of school, employees at the AJ Myers & Sons bus company in Latrobe found a fuel tank empty, and the thieves who drained it gone.
"That wasn't an easy task for somebody," Tom Oleyar with AJ Meyers & Sons.
"They had to be driving some kind of tanker truck or had a tanker truck with them, because they offloaded 9,000 gallons of diesel fuel," State Police Tpr. Steve Limani added.
The brazen and unusual theft occurred sometime this past weekend, between Friday and Sunday afternoons, but escaped the notice of people who live and work nearby. And if the fuel is not recovered, it will be a big hit for the bus company.
"That's a lot of fuel that's a high price tag on that," said Oleyar.
It was about $27,000 worth, but that's not all. To add insult to injury, those responsible caulked up the ignition switches of 20 buses, rendering them unable to be driven.
"That was another thing the bus company had to deal with Sunday evening to," said Limani. "The buses ready for the children to go to school."
After discovering the theft and vandalism, the company enlisted the help of the State Police, which are asking for the cooperation of the public. They're looking for anyone who might have seen a tanker truck at, or leaving the site this past weekend.
Company employees went to work on the clogged ignition switches to get the buses ready for this morning.
"Fortunately it was all caught yesterday and we were able to proceed today with the first day of school," said Oleyar.
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