Darius McCollum can’t get enough of subway cars … and apparently buses, too.
McCollum, 45, who has become notorious in New York for his unquenchable desire to “steal” trains and impersonate transit workers, was arrested for the 27th time yesterday for driving a stolen coach bus. He was caught behind the wheel of an empty Trailways bus on the Van Wyck Expressway, near Exit 10 in Queens, around 9:15 a.m.
The NYPD tracked the bus’ GPS in response to a report from New York State Police of a bus stolen from a Hoboken maintenance facility. McCollum was arrested without incident and charged with grand larceny and criminal possession of stolen property.
The Harlemite, who’s been diagnosed with Asperger’s syndrome (a form of autism), has been obsessed with trains from a young age. He commandeered his first — an E train he drove from 34th Street to the World Trade Center — at 15 years old.
McCollum, most recently arrested in 2008 for trying to pass as a subway worker, made Time magazine’s “Top 10 Imposters” list last year. The MTA has reportedly rebuffed his applications for employment several times.
“He has a thing for mass transit,” NYPD spokesman Paul Browne told the New York Times.
