14-year-old takes school bus for a joy ride

A 14-year-old boy who was suspended from school last week decided to steal a bus and take it for a joy ride to Mayfair Mall.

According to Wauwatosa police:

After having been suspended from school on June 8, the Milwaukee teen went for a walk and saw a school bus parked with its engine running near 90th Street and Capitol Drive. The driver had gotten out of the vehicle to help a special-needs student to his front door.

Wrestling with his conscience, the boy walked past the bus numerous times and debated whether to get inside. The falling rain helped him make up his mind, however, and he jumped into the driver's seat and drove away.

The first stop was his grandmother's house near 45th Street and Concordia Avenue, where he parked the vehicle for a few hours. Then he took the bus to Mayfair Mall, where he was seen driving recklessly and not obeying stop signs.

The boy told police he "had no intention of shopping, but wanted to be seen by others driving the bus through the lot."

He got his wish.

One of the people who noticed him was the daughter of a driver for Lakeside Buses of Wisconsin, the company that owned the stolen vehicle. She had heard about the stolen bus from her father earlier that day and had a feeling that the kid behind the wheel wasn't a licensed driver.

The daughter and her friend confronted the boy, and he drove out of the mall lot, where he was stopped by police who were waiting for him.

He was arrested for vehicle theft and sent to the Milwaukee County Juvenile Detention Center.