$27 thousand worth of fuel stolen in Westmoreland County heist

WESTMORELAND COUNTY, Pa. — According to officials, 9 tons of gas was stolen from a fleet of school buses in Westmoreland County school district over the weekend.

A bus driver on Sunday afternoon discovered that someone had tampered with the gas tank at the AJ Meyers Bus Garage just outside of Latrobe, Pa.

Officials said the total cost of the gas stolen in the heist is around $27 thousand dollars.

22 buses at the garage were also damaged over the weekend. At least 20 buses had either liquid nails or caulk poured into the ignition switches.  The garage was able to clean up the damage quickly and the buses were on the road for the first day of classes on Monday morning.

Channel 11’s Rick Earle spoke to garage manager Tom Oleyar about the unusual crime.

While Oleyar suspects kids may be responsible for tampering with the ignition switches, he believes the fuel theft is the work of someone else who has access to a large fuel tanker.

“I can’t see kids doing the fuel, that's a little bit over and above that,” said Oleyar.

State police are asking anyone with any information to call them.

WPXI