BATON ROUGE, La. (NewsNation Now) — An 11-year-old child was taken into custody Sunday after allegedly taking a school bus out for a joy ride, then crashing it.
The child drove the bus for nearly 45 minutes across Baton Rouge during the pursuit, according to Baton Rouge Police Department spokesman L’Jean McKneely.
The school bus belonged to a private owner who subcontracted with the Head Start Elementary, according to McKneely.
The 11-year-old child was taunting officers as the chase was ongoing, authorities said. The child allegedly flipped an officer off as police vehicles drove by.
The child-suspect eventually crashed the bus in front of a home.
“It was just unbelievable to see something like that,” homeowner Libby Smith said.
Smith said she was in disbelief when she saw police arrest the boy in her front yard.
“You just don’t think of a 10-year-old boy driving a bus and being in control of a big bus like that,” Smith said.
McKnealy said the 11-year-old told officers he did it “just to do it.”
The child in custody is being charged with theft of a motor vehicle, aggravated flight, three charges of aggravated damage to property and aggravated assault.