8 school buses stolen, shredded into 'big pile of scrap'
Eight school buses were stolen from the Far South Side overnight and driven to a salvage yard, where they were cut apart and shredded into a two-story pile of scrap, police said.The logo for the Sunrise Bus company could be seen among the shards of metal at SRV Metal Scrapper, 3405 S. Lawndale Avenue, police said. Three people were taken into custody.
Now, here's the kicker. The buses had GPS units installed, so the police knew where they were at all times. Apparently they followed the signal to the yard, where they found the buses already cut up and shredded. This concerns me for one reason and one reason only: The city of Chicago has junkyards with shredders so powerful they can reduce a SCHOOL BUS to metal shards? Is there that much call for industrial shredding?
On another note, who in bloody blazes thought they'd be able to get away with stealing EIGHT school buses? Did they think they wouldn't notice eight 40 foot long buses? Or a two story pile of scrap with the bus company logo on it? School buses run about $75K new, so this stunt cost the school district more than half a million dollars.Wonder how they're going to get that money back?
It's a shame we don't have public flogging any more, it really is...
That is all.
18 comments:
I want to see the face of the evidence tech arriving at the salvage yard and being told, "bag it all."
BGM
Couple notes:
This was a private outfit, not the school district. Further reports are that some of the buses were equipped with chair lifts, but the company has over 200 buses and said there would be no disruption of service. Secondly, as BGM noted, the updated story says that the pile is being impounded for evidence! I can't wait to see what Second City Cop blog has to say about that!
P.S. First CAPTCHA code says something about feces. This is a pretty sh*itty story, I guess....
Yes, there's a demand for big shredders. Metal recycling is big business. That's why so many empty and abandoned houses are being sripped of wiring and plumbing.
The first person I would look for is the joker
Not surprising since in Illinois when they first opened I-294, it was lined with fine aluminum guard rails. Two weeks later they were all gone. Some of them were recovered in Southside and Northern Indiana scrapyards.
Some of the scrapyards don't ask questions despite being required to keep logs of people who turn in large amounts of scrap of particular types (like copper and aluminum).
With Chicago dismantling some highrises and being the home of US Steel until 30 years ago, the industrial shredders are in use and still useful after all these years.
Since it is Westside, it is probably near the Union Pacific railyard/CTA and Metra maintainance facilities.
Joseph in IL
Can't reinstitute public flogging, too many sick twisted rump rangers would sign up for it here in L.A.
It's Chi-town, Jay G.
Al_in_Ottawa
It's a start to not being thrown under the bus...
Never steal anything small!
James Cagney
http://www.zimbio.com/watch/-bGnu97Siro/Never+Steal+Anything+Small/Cara+Williams
I am a robot not!
Any word on whether the Scrapyard Guy is going to be Charged? You'd think that someone there would say "Hey, wait a minute..."
It's Chi-town, and I'm betting the scrap guy was in on it...
It's Chi-town.
I'm betting one or more of the bus company are in on it.
BGM
The buses had GPS units installed, so the police knew where they were at all times. Apparently they followed the signal to the yard, where they found the buses already cut up and shredded.
When seconds count...
I'm giving odds on the perps being pissed off property owners, pushed too far by more school levies.
Let 'em walk to school (in the snow, uphill, both ways).
Those crazy kids and their youthful hijinks...!
Update on the story, 4 arrests all scrapyard employees and the scrapyard owner. Engines and trannys recovered at a second location owned by owner.
It was a bus chop shop.
Joseph in IL
I vaguely remember from my childhood that there was variant of Barnum's Animal Crackers where the cookies had iconic Wild West cookie shapes - horses, Sheriff's or Marshall's stars, spurred cowboy boots, and six shooter revolvers. Imagine what would happen if such a product were sold now.
A quick search online did not confirm my vague recollection, but you definitely can buy revolver outline cookie cutters, with and without trigger guards.
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