When an MTA bus driver asked a passenger to put out her cigarette, she allegedly commandeered the bus, driving it for several blocks before being taken into police custody.
Authorities told NBC that the woman, in her 50s, was smoking in the back of an M101 bus on Tuesday morning in East Harlem when she became angered at the driver’s request for her to extinguish her cigarette. RELATED:Notorious transit thief allegedly strikes again after stealing bus After the driver pulled over on East 97thStreet to call police and allow other passengers to exit, the smoking woman allegedly got behind the wheel as the driver was helping others, NBC stated, and then drove the bus for about three blocks. A second bus blocked the woman’s journey at East 100thStreet and Third Avenue, where police arrived to take the woman into custody, according to NBC.
RELATED: MTA shows off bus technology that could keep pedestrians, drivers safer The woman allegedly told police, “People were following me,” NBC added. She was evaluated at Metropolitan Hospital.
Woman steals bus when asked to stop smoking: Report
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