Stolen Bus

FERN PARK, Fla. -- A 15-year-old boy was arrested when deputies stopped him driving a stolen bus along a public transit route, picking up passengers and collecting fares, authorities said Sunday.

Ritchie Calvin Davis took the bus Saturday from the Central Florida Fairgrounds in Orlando, where it was parked awaiting sale at an auction, a Seminole County sheriff's report said. The bus belongs to the Central Florida Transportation Agency, which runs LYNX public transit services in the Orlando area.

"I drove that bus better than most of the LYNX drivers could," the teen told a deputy after his arrest. "There isn't a scratch on it. I know how to start it, drive it, lower it, raise it."

Passengers and deputies noted Davis drove the bus at normal speeds and made all the appropriate stops on the route. One passenger, suspicious of the youthful looks of the driver, called 911.

There were two passengers on the bus when deputies stopped it in Fern Park, a suburb about 12 miles north of the fairgrounds where the bus was stolen. Authorities believe Davis picked up a total of three passengers and collected only a few dollars on his Saturday morning drive.

The sheriff's report noted that Davis, who is too young to legally drive, has a dummy license number because he had previously been charged for a similar bus theft.

In January, he took a tour bus and drove passengers around without incident, authorities told the Orlando Sentinel. He was still serving probation for that incident, the paper reported.

The teen was charged with grand theft auto and driving without a license. A court hearing was scheduled Tuesday to determine if he will be charged as an adult or a juvenile.

A message left at the home of a man identified by deputies as Davis' relative was not immediately returned Sunday.