Catalytic Converter Thieves Target School Buses

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) – Less than a month before school starts, officials in one school district are scrambling to get their buses back in working order.

Thieves took some important parts and it's going to cost quite a bit to fix the problem.

Using Sawzalls, thieves have been targeting cars and other vehicles throughout the region – cutting catalytic converters out from undercarriages.

They're turning them into quick cash.

"One of the reasons people do this is there's very rare metals inside the catalytic converters and it's very valuable when you take it for scrap," said State Police Tpr. Steve Limani.

Late Tuesday night, or early Wednesday morning, thieves struck again. This time it was at the First Student School Bus Yard in Hempfield Township.

They stole converters from two buses and a school district maintenance truck. The thieves are said to get about $100 a piece for the converters, but it'll cost the bus company $1,000 or more per vehicle to repair.

"It's very expensive and costly for the bus companies to repair these, so we're hoping that anybody who saw vehicles or any type of unusual activity in that area would please contact us at the state police barracks in Greensburg," said Limani.

In recent months, the region has seen a rash of these thefts.

In April, Ross Police arrested a man on theft charges for stealing an estimated 50 converters. And earlier this Spring, KDKA reported on dozens of converter thefts in Highland Park and Polish Hill.

And State Police in Greensburg would like to catch those responsible before it becomes a trend in Westmoreland County.

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