Cops: Teen takes SEPTA bus for a ride

A 16-year-old boy playing hooky yesterday made Ferris Bueller look like chopped liver when he stole a SEPTA bus - because he wanted to practice for his driver's test - and ended up crashing into several cars, police said.

The boy, a resident of a West Philadelphia halfway house who has the mental intellect of an 8-year-old, Upper Darby Police Superintendent Michael Chitwood said, left the facility to attend school, but instead hopped on the El.

He got off at the 69th Street Terminal, in Upper Darby, and went around back to the Victory Avenue Depot, where he was able to drive off in an unoccupied SEPTA bus about 11:30 a.m., police said.

Upper Darby detectives Matt Rowles and Bill Sminkey spotted the bus and followed it west on West Chester Pike.

About a half-block away, at Brief Avenue, the teen lost control. The bus careened over a curb and concrete barriers into a paid parking lot, where it "demolished" 14 empty cars, Chitwood said.

"You had to see this scene - it looked like something out of a stock-car derby," he said.

The teen tried to run but was quickly apprehended by police.

No injuries were reported, although in the parking lot the bus came within inches of hitting an SUV occupied by four Delaware residents, police said.

"He could have killed numerous people," Chitwood said. "These detectives saved a catastrophic event."

When questioned about his motives, the teen said he wanted to get his license and thought this would be a good way to practice, Chitwood said.

The youth told police he had found the bus running unattended in the depot, Chitwood said. SEPTA spokeswoman Jerri Williams said investigators were looking into whether the bus, which was not scheduled to go out yesterday, had been left idling or if an anti-theft device left inside had malfunctioned or been compromised.

The teen was arraigned on theft and related charges.