Brooklyn

Queens Man Indicted for Allegedly Stealing School Bus, Smashing Into Cars on Wild Chase

The man who allegedly stole the bus from a driveway in East Flatbush faces 43 charges in all, including attempted assault, reckless endangerment, grand larceny and more

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What to Know

  • A Queens man faces a slew of charges for allegedly stealing a school bus in Brooklyn and taking it on a wild ride, smashing into a number of other vehicles, before coming to a crashing halt
  • Investigators said that after the bus was stolen, it smashed into a number of cars throughout the neighborhood. The number of cars and extent of damage they sustained is currently unclear.
  • Anthony Reyes, of Jamaica, was indicted Friday for attempted assault, reckless endangerment, grand larceny and other related charges for the Dec. 2 mayhem; he faces 43 charges in all

A Queens man faces a slew of charges for allegedly stealing a school bus in Brooklyn and taking it on a wild ride, smashing into a number of other vehicles, before coming to a crashing halt.

Anthony Reyes, of Jamaica, was indicted on Friday for attempted assault, reckless endangerment, grand larceny and other related charges for the Dec. 2 mayhem he caused with a school bus in the middle of the afternoon. He faces 43 charges in all, the Brooklyn district attorney said.

District Attorney Eric Gonzalez said that, according to the investigation, Reyes stole the unoccupied school bus around 1:30 p.m., with its key in the ignition and engine running as it sat in the driveway of a house on East 51st Street in East Flatbush.

Shortly after police received word of the stolen school bus, officers responded to a call of that the stolen transport had been located in the vicinity of Jackie Robinson Parkway. When officers arrived, they allegedly observed a parked school bus with a man inside. When the officers tried to enter the bus, Reyes allegedly began to resist. Police say that officers unsuccessfully deployed a Taser and he fled in the bus, even though an officer was holding onto the vehicle, though he quickly let go.

Police chase for a man who stole and then crashed a school bus in Brooklyn. Adam Harding reports.

Luckily, there were no kids on board when this took place.

Investigators said that within about 30 minutes of the bus being stolen, it smashed into a number of cars throughout the neighborhood. The number of cars and extent of damage they sustained is currently unclear.

Police say the bus came to a stop after striking multiple parked vehicles and finally hitting the front of a building located on East New York Avenue. However, Reyes allegedly fled again, striking yet another vehicle heading eastbound on Atlantic Avenue. EMS responded to this scene and removed the motorist that was struck on Atlantic Avenue to an area hospital for minor injuries.

The bus again fled after the Atlantic Avenue crash, and came to rest in the vicinity of Georgia Avenue and Sheffield Avenue, where Reyes was taken into custody, police said.

Video from the scene shows the bus with significant front-end damage as debris was scattered throughout the street.

Reyes was being held on $500,000 bond. The 43-year-old is next scheduled to appear in court on March 11.

It was not immediately known if Reyes retained an attorney who could comment on his behalf.

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