Fort Worth police recovered a bus that was stolen from an Arlington daycare center over the weekend after the suspected thieves led police on a winding chase through several residential neighborhoods on Monday.
Police spotted the bus and attempted to pull it over around 2:30 p.m. after noticing that it had been reported stolen from Tender Love Childcare in Arlington. However, the driver refused to stop. More patrol units joined in the chase as the driver wound his way up and down numerous residential streets.
“It shook up the neighborhood. All the neighbors came out and were looking and saying, ‘This is crazy!’ What’s going on?!’” eyewitness Krystal Powell told Fox 4 KDFW. “There were six cops chasing him! It was a lot.”
Another local resident captured cell phone video of the police chase, which Fox 4 later posted on X.
DAYCARE BUS CHASE: Two people were arrested after a police chase involving a stolen daycare bus in Fort Worth Monday. Police say they tried to pull over the driver, but the driver refused to stop. The chase made its way through several neighborhoods, but no one was injured, and… pic.twitter.com/7frXEFqtt7
— FOX 4 NEWS (@FOX4) September 9, 2024
The pursuit eventually ground to a halt in an alleyway behind Silver Trail in Grand Prairie after police units blocked the bus’ path. Two suspects exited the vehicle and were arrested after a short foot chase. Police have not publicly identified the suspects or specified what charges they may be facing.
No children were on the bus at the time of the incident.
Although the bus was recovered, it was definitely worse for wear, according to daycare owner Belinda Langley. She said she believed the thieves had been living in the bus.
“Whole lot of clothes, baby formula, different food, all kinds of trash in there, alcohol,” she said, per Fox 4. “Whatever you want to think of, they just moved up there.”
“Seats gotta be replaced. Air conditioning gotta be taken care of. And I don’t know how we’re gonna get the paint off of there,” she added.
However, Langley acknowledged that the situation could have turned out much worse.
“I just thank God no kids were on there,” she said, per Fox 4. “The most important thing to me is to make sure the kids are all safe at all times.”
In nearby Dallas, 10,531 motor vehicle thefts have been reported so far this year, according to the City of Dallas crime analytics dashboard. The Dallas Police Department has struggled to keep crime under control, as it has been chronically understaffed for years. The department fields roughly 3,000 officers, in spite of a City analysis that showed about 4,000 officers are needed to adequately patrol the city.
In addition, the department is operating on a budget of $654 million this fiscal year, far below the budgets of other high-crime jurisdictions such as Los Angeles, Chicago, and New York City.