14-year-old serial thief takes bus for 300km joy ride for third time in Norway

Norwegian police intercepted a stolen bus on Sunday morning, May 17, after drivers raised alarms about erratic driving by someone who appeared extremely young. Officers from the Agder district responded immediately to reports near Grimstad and halted the vehicle on the E39 west of Kristiansand. Empty of passengers, the bus had travelled more than 300 kilometres from its original location in the Oslo area.

Teen joy rider covers huge distance in stolen public transport

Reports first started coming in at around 5.40am concerning a young person behind the wheel of a bus heading west along the E18. Police stopped the vehicle shortly afterwards with no one else aboard. Police operations manager Ronny Aateigen Andersen confirmed that the driver turned out to be a 14-year-old boy now in the care of both police and child welfare services. A tow truck later collected the bus, and its operator received immediate notification.

Repeat offender faces third arrest in six months

Confirmation soon followed that this incident involved the same minor linked to two earlier bus thefts. In April the boy allegedly took a bus from the Oslo region and drove it across the border into Sweden, where police halted it near Stenungsund after GPS data showed it passing through Uddevalla en route toward Gothenburg. Months before that episode, in November, he reportedly stole another bus in Stavanger and operated it locally for about three hours through areas including Sandnes and Ryfast before returning it himself.

Police stress serious road safety risks

Police have described the latest event as very serious and renewed warnings over the obvious dangers of such a young person driving such a large vehicle in normal traffic. Eastern Police District operations manager Rune Isaksen stated that police view these repeated actions with grave concern. Andersen noted that other road users had reacted strongly in the Grimstad area because of both the driving style and the driver’s apparent age. Andersen added that the journey proved lengthy, yet the bus thankfully carried no passengers.

Bus operator keeps comment brief

Unibuss chief executive Atle Rønning verified ownership of the vehicle involved but declined to offer any additional remarks. Police continue to handle the case with child welfare services fully engaged. This sequence of events has drawn attention to questions around supervision and prevention measures for repeat juvenile incidents of this nature. It is so far unclear whether the boy has an overwhelming urge to become a bus driver, or whether the computer game Grand Theft Auto has a lot to answer for.

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