So how much is a scrapped school bus worth? I would have loved to hear the conversation between these criminals thinking this was a great idea.

8 school buses stolen, shredded into 'big pile of scrap'


By Peter Nickeas and Carlos Sadovi Tribune reporters

12:50 p.m. CST, March 8, 2013

Eight school buses were stolen from the Far South Side overnight and driven to a salvage yard, where they were cut apart and shredded into a two-story pile of scrap, police said.

The name of the Sunrise Bus company could be seen among the shards of metal at SRV Metal Scrapper, 3405 S. Lawndale Avenue, police said. Three people were taken into custody.

The 40-foot-long buses, capable of seating 75 people, were stolen sometime overnight from the bus company's yard in the 10000 block of South Torrence Avenue and were not discovered missing until this morning, police said.

The buses were all equipped with GPS tracking devices, and police were able to track "their entire movement" to the scrap yard on the West Side, police said.

When officers arrived, several people who apparently worked in the scrap yard ran into a building, police said. Officers initially apprehended one person and later took two others into custody.

"There was a pile of shredded school buses about two-stories high," one police official said. Some pieces were large enough that police could see the "Sunrise bus logo," the official said.

Engines and transmissions from the buses had already been cut in half, and the seats tossed in a "big pile of scrap."

Police were searching for the owner of the yard.

An employee said the bus yard had been closed around 7 p.m. Thursday. When workers arrived at 5 a.m. today, they discovered a gate open and a snapped lock. Police arrived at the scrap yard around 6 a.m.

Greg Bonnett, president and co-owner of Sunrise, said he was told of the stolen buses around 5:30 a.m.

When the GPS signals were tracked down to the West Side, Bonnett said he expected to find 8 buses parked there. "We expected to come in and see our buses, not a mound of scrap.

"In 40 years I have never heard of anything like this," said Bonnett.

Four of the buses were 2009 models, three were 2004 and one was a 2003, according to Bonnet. He said, on average, the buses were each worth at least $65,000, though some were more expensive because they were equipped with wheelchair lifts and other attachments for students with special needs, Bonnet said.

The buses weighed between 17,000 to 20,000 pounds each, he said.

Sunrise has about 260 buses, and the company was able to get buses to its schools. "No Sunrise kids missed school," he said. "Equipment is equipment. It's easy to replace."

Area Central Commander Eugene Roy said the metal will be impounded as evidence. “It was unusual to see such a large-scale theft,” he said.

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i bet they would get 5k in scrap because of the 'hot' discount

technology for the win though. incredibly stupid people though. even if there wasnt gps, it doesnt seem like a difficult task to watch traffic cam recordings and find where they went...

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