by Merania Karauria merania.karauria@wanganuichronicle.co.nz
A group of teenagers allegedly stole a bus for a cross-country joyride from Hamilton to Wanganui, damaging the vehicle on the way.
Bizarrely, an off-duty employee of Hamilton GoBus was in Wanganui on Tuesday night and saw the bus on Anzac Pde. He knew instantly it was
way off route.
The man alerted Wanganui police who stopped the bus on Somme Pde at 7.30pm.
To the police's surprise, the driver was a 15-year old girl who had just driven the 33-seater city bus over the Dublin St Bridge.
But they were further surprised when they climbed aboard the bus and four more heads appeared.
The four females and one male aged 14-16 all came from Hamilton.
Senior Sergeant Dave Kirby told the Chronicle four of the teenagers were sent home to their parents in Hamilton where they would go through the youth justice system, while a 16-year-old has appeared in the Youth Court at Wanganui.
The teenagers had scrawled graffiti throughout the bus and their insignia was evident in dust on the exterior.
One side panel of the bus was bent and a rear taillight on the upper side of the bus was damaged where a tree had gouged a deep gash in the body of the vehicle.
It is understood there may have been up to 20 teenagers on board the bus when it left Hamilton, but that could not be confirmed last night.
Mr Kirby said police were looking into other alleged offending on the teenagers' trip from Hamilton to Wanganui. The police are interested in hearing from anyone who saw the green GoBus on State Highway 4, the Parapara, between Sunday and Tuesday.
Meanwhile, Wanganui cyclists are warned that police yesterday started a two-week helmet blitz in the city. Any cyclists caught without a helmet will be fined, and police will be calling the parents of teenagers under the age of 16 caught without a helmet, to collect them from the police station, Mr Kirby said.
