This story is so unbelievable that we doubt we could’ve come up with it ourselves. You know those stories that make you say, “That’s definitely Florida”? They have that unique blend of weird, frightening, and totally crazy that just screams Florida.
Like this one. A man hijacks a school bus, takes the police on a cross-county chase, and is finally caught naked. And for some reason, there’s a dead deer in the back of the bus.
Sounds like Florida, right?
But it’s not. This thing occurred in Pennsylvania.
Yeah, the only part of that story that we fabricated was the location. Everything else actually took place.
Maybe Florida is moving northwards.
The Deer and the Hijacked Bus
The strange incident occurred on April 4. The Carroll Township Police Department (CTPD) got a phone call about a school bus that had been stolen around 7 a.m. that day, the department stated in a release.
You know, you have to start your crazy escapade early.
The caller said they had seen a bus that the Gettysburg PA State Police had reported missing earlier that morning. The alleged bus hijacker was named as Tony Saunders, 24.
According to eyewitnesses, Saunders had entered a school bus lot in the early morning hours. They also reported that he had been carrying a dead deer at the time.
No one knows where he got the deer from. We’re not sure we want to find out.
Anyway, Saunders somehow managed to force open one of the buses and dragged the deer body inside. He then jumped into the driver’s seat and drove away.
The Pursuit
After CTPD got the call about the bus, officers on duty also spotted the vehicle. They started a chase but it soon became apparent that Saunders may not have been familiar with how to drive the bus.
“Officers noticed that the lights on the bus were flickering on and off randomly,” the CTPD said.
However, the features of the bus matched the vehicle that had been notified as stolen. So, at least the cops were sure they were following the right vehicle.
What ensued was a long chase that spanned multiple counties. During the chase, Saunders reportedly performed multiple dangerous stunts.
At one point, officers tried to do a traffic stop to stop the bus. Saunders seemed to cooperate at first, but switched lanes and drove away as soon as he saw a chance.
He then proceeded along a highway, “weaving in and out of traffic lanes.” After some time, Saunders drove the bus off the highway by going over a berm, almost flipping the heavy vehicle over in the process.
The chase went on for a while longer as Saunders drove his bus into a nearby neighborhood. Eventually, though, he parked the vehicle and got out.
And then he ran away.
The Nude Sprinter
As Saunders exited the bus, some locals saw him. Then again, it’s probably kind of hard to ignore a school bus driving through your neighborhood.
They gave the police a description of Saunders’ looks and clothes before they started to run after him. However, he must’ve somehow noticed that, because he began to take off his clothing as he ran.
“As [Saunders] ran away from Police, he took them through parking lots and busy traffic areas which had vehicles coming in and out of businesses,” the CTPD stated.
All the while, Saunders kept shedding more and more clothes until he was running along completely nude. Yet, his wild escape couldn’t last.
Finally, the cops trapped Saunders and he gave up.
The Mysteries
We’re sure the cops had a lot of questions for Saunders after arresting him. Some of them probably included “What the hell?” and “Why?”
Being surprisingly helpful, Saunders revealed some of the reasons behind his actions. He confessed to hijacking the school bus — after he had wrecked the BMW earlier in the morning.
We couldn’t find out whether that was his own car or another stolen vehicle.
But what about the dead deer? Well, Saunders had a good explanation for having it.
He was going to bring it home to use as fertilizer for his garden. He didn’t clarify where he got the carcass, at least based on police reports.
The man has now been charged with one count of fleeing from a police officer, one count of receiving stolen property, 18 counts of resisting arrest, and 75 counts of reckless driving.
No, but seriously. Where did he find the deer?