A bizarre and amusing bus theft incident took place in Germany on the 13th. A 15-year-old boy in Wiesbaden stole a city bus and drove about 130 kilometers to Karlsruhe, just to pick up his 14-year-old girlfriend for school. Police are still puzzled by two things: how he obtained a universal bus key, and why he was able to drive a large bus so skillfully.
According to multiple German media reports, police said the boy entered a bus parking lot in Wiesbaden early Friday morning. He did not break the door but used a universal key to open it. After starting the bus, he drove off.
The bus company’s staff noticed the disappearance of the bus at about 6 a.m., but at first did not suspect theft, thinking perhaps a driver had mistakenly taken the wrong vehicle, so they did not report it to police immediately. It wasn’t until around noon, when the situation seemed unusual, that the company informed the police.
Police then launched an investigation, and clues quickly pointed to Karlsruhe, more than 100 kilometers away. Local police, while patrolling at noon, spotted the bus and pulled it over. At the wheel was the 15-year-old boy. According to police, just before being stopped, the teenager had picked up his 14-year-old girlfriend nearby and was preparing to take her to school.
A police spokesperson said it remains unclear how the boy obtained the universal bus key, as well as how he could operate a large bus so proficiently. Police also cannot yet explain why the boy chose such an unusual and illegal way to take his girlfriend to school.
Surprisingly, after the long journey the bus remained completely undamaged, with no pried doors, no vehicle damage, and no accidents during the drive.
The 15-year-old is under police investigation for theft and driving without a license, and was subsequently handed over to his guardians. Police say investigations are ongoing, with the main focus on how the boy obtained the key.
This bizarre yet somewhat romantic incident has quickly gone viral on German social media. Many netizens joked that the boy had completed "the wildest school run ever" and said, "Romance is not dead," while others teased, "Looks like he’s already found his future career."
Some netizens took the opportunity to satirize the recent rise in fuel prices due to the US-Iran war, humorously commenting: "With fuel prices so high nowadays, his pocket money was actually enough to drive a bus 130 kilometers just to pick up his girlfriend."