Teens Charged After Bus Prank Delays School In Latrobe

LATROBE, Pa.,None — State police have charged five teenagers they said deflated the tires on nearly 50 school buses in Latrobe.

The prank delayed classes in the Greater Latrobe School District on Thursday.

Police said they believe it was planned as a senior prank because they found "Seniors" and "11" written in duct tape on several buses.

First Student Transportation, which buses the students to school, said someone let the air out of the tires of 45 buses.

"Even though it's a two hour delay, its two hours of instruction, two hours of teaching time that didn't occur. That's significant," said Superintendent Judy Swigart.

State police said the buses were left stranded after someone wedged pen caps in the stems of the tires.

The director of the transportation company said re-inflating the tires was a consuming process.

Unity Township road crews sent four trucks with compressors to inflate the tires and help with moving the process along quickly. Local service station employees also helped.

"This is the type of community Latrobe is. In time of need, people rally around. We appreciate their effort," Swigart said.

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