MAHANOY TOWNSHIP, Pa. -- Police in Schuylkill County say they busted a man trying to cut the fuel line on a school bus.
A Mahanoy Township police officer says he spotted Richard Davis under that bus around 2 a.m. Monday.
A posting to Mahanoy Township police's Facebook page shows that Davis is facing a slew of charges for allegedly trying to cut the fuel line to a school bus belonging to the Mahanoy Area School District.
The news has parents in the district outraged.
“Why a school bus where they transport how many kids a day?” said Mildred Santana. “These are kids that need the safety of us.”
“There's little children on those buses, and it's not right. There's no excuse for it,” said David Loftus.
Police say Davis told them he was cutting the line because he needed gas.
However, the Mahanoy Area superintendent points out the buses run on diesel fuel.
The superintendent went on to say that no buses were used on Monday because it was an in-service day and there were no classes, but she says if school had been in session, the driver of the bus would have noticed the tank was empty.
Parents aren't as confident.
“It could have had a little bit of gas still in the engine going, and then kids get on the bus and it stops and someone smashes into him, so for me it's kind of really scary,” said Leigh Wagenhurst.
The superintendent says as a precaution, all the school buses were inspected and not just the fuel lines. The buses were checked for any tampering or vandalism.
The district says no problems were found with the buses.
Parents are just glad Davis was caught.
“That's a cop doing his job. In this town, it's tough for the cops to do jobs. It's really tough, so kudos to that cop,” said Loftus.
Richard Davis faces charges including theft, trespass, and vandalism.