He caught the bus
Perhaps 19-year-old Washington resident William Jackson was just trying to realize a childhood dream when, on July 9, he walked into the city’s bus storage area wearing a bus operator’s uniform and drove away with bus number 9318. Investigators believe the youth then began running the B-2 route toward Anacostia and stopped for passengers, according to local news station MyFoxDC.com. “According to Mr. Jackson, all eight passengers that he picked up did pay their fare,” Transit Police Captain Ronald Pavlik explained to reporters. “He simply had a fascination with buses.”
The bus Jackson was driving hit some large tree limbs at one point but kept going, prompting some witnesses to call 911. Jackson parked the bus a few blocks away from the tree, near the Potomac Avenue Metro station, and walked away. He was apprehended about a block away, still wearing the bus operator’s uniform, according to MyFoxDC.
Police are investigating how Jackson acquired the uniform and managed to get into the bus yard, where security officers are supposed to require everyone to produce a Metro ID badge. Jackson is charged with fleeing the scene of an accident and unauthorized use of a vehicle.