(this boy is DANGEROUS, i tell ya!) <g>

Boy Reportedly Takes Stolen Bus on Route
Monday , October 30, 2006


FERN PARK, Fla. - A 15-year-old boy stole a bus, drove it along a public
transit route, picked up passengers and collected fares, authorities said
Sunday.
Ritchie Calvin Davis was already on probation for taking a tour bus and
driving passengers around, authorities said.

In Saturday's incident, he took the bus from the Central Florida Fairgrounds
in Orlando, where it was parked awaiting sale at an auction, a Seminole
County sheriff's report said. The bus belongs to the Central Florida
Transportation Agency, which runs LYNX public transit services in the
Orlando area.

"I drove that bus better than most of the LYNX drivers could," the teen, who
is too young to drive legally, told a deputy after he was stopped and
arrested. "There isn't a scratch on it. I know how to start it, drive it,
lower it, raise it."

Passengers and deputies noted Davis drove the bus at normal speeds and made
all the appropriate stops on the route. One passenger, suspicious of the
youthful looks of the driver, called 911.

The bus had two passengers when deputies stopped it in Fern Park, about 12
miles north of the fairgrounds. Authorities believe Davis picked up a total
of three passengers and collected only a few dollars.

He was charged with grand theft auto and driving without a license. A court
hearing was scheduled Tuesday to determine whether he will be charged as an
adult.

A message left at the home of a man identified as a Davis relative was not
immediately returned Sunday.