WASHINGTON (AP) — A 9-year-old boy charged with stealing a Trailways bus says he was just going to visit his grandfather. The boy was arrested after the bus crashed while making a U-turn on an expressway.
Ronnell Blakeney faces juvenile charges, as well as a curfew and counseling program, until his court date.
Ronnell rode his bike to the bus station Monday, finding a bus with its door open, The Washington Post reported Wednesday.
"So I did it just like my uncle showed me how to do it — I pressed this button to start the engine, and that's when I pulled the bus out and started to drive it," he told the newspaper.
"I knew the police were going to pull me over, and that I was going to get in trouble. And they were going to lock me up," he said.
The bus hit a utility pole as Assistant Police Chief Terrance W. Gainer was driving by. Gainer arrested the boy.