The driver of a stolen car crashed into a Georgetown University bus in downtown D.C. Wednesday, the car burst into flames and the driver tried to steal the bus, police say.
The fiery crash occurred before midnight at 20th and K streets NW. Images show flames leaping from the front of a light-colored sedan in the middle of the intersection.
D.C. police say the car was stolen from Mount Rainier, Maryland.
The driver smashed into the bus and then he and two passengers tried to steal the bus, Chief of Police Robert Contee said. They failed to start the bus and ran away.
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Cristian Benavides, a reporter for News4’s sister station in Miami, happened to be on K Street and captured video of one of the suspects walking away from the car.
"We hear this loud boom. The guy crawls out from the side. He’s kind of crawling on the floor, and then he gets up and starts walking away,” Benavides said. “Then all of a sudden we noticed that they’re not there. The occupants of the vehicle had all left.”
No one on the bus was hurt, police said.
The D.C. area is seeing a number of car thefts and carjackings. D.C. crime statistics show motor vehicle thefts are up 9% this year compared to the same point last year.
About 65% of people arrested for carjackings are juveniles, Contee said.
A Metropolitan Police Department task force focuses on carjackings. Contee urged drivers to keep their doors locked and to never leave a car running as you step away.
