Catalytic converters stolen from dozens of school buses on Chicago's West Side
Catalytic converters were stolen from over 30 school buses in Chicago's West Humboldt Park neighborhood on Wednesday morning.
Chicago police confirmed 33 buses were damaged in the Student First Inc. school bus yard in the 4100 block of West Chicago Avenue. Drivers told CBS News Chicago that catalytic converters were stolen.
A source familiar with the layout of the property said the only way to enter is through the front of the building, but the school bus lot is in the back.
Whoever was harboring the converters after the thefts got a huge get. Investigators estimated that they were worth a total of $100,000.
According to the website Cararac, new school bus catalytic converters range in price from $250 to $550 each. Experts said recycling companies will pay anywhere from $100 to $300 for the part containing valuable platinum.
The thefts also caused a lot of problems. Several drivers ended up being unable to complete their routes as a result of the thefts, impacting dozens, if not hundreds, of schoolchildren.
A spokeswoman for First Service Inc. said other buses were brought in to make up for the ones that had to be pulled from service with their catalytic converters gone. They said they were working with law enforcement and the Chicago Public Schools about the incident.
Bus driver Phiona Lopez said bus drivers noticed something wasn't right the instant they started up the buses.
"Somebody started up the bus and said the bus was loud and shaking," she said.
Lopez said on top of it, the crooks also stole the catalytic converter from her personal car, which gets parked in the same lot, on Tuesday.
Lopez wonders if the thieves left and then came back for bus parts later on.
Several buses were seen pulling into the repair garage at the bus lot on Wednesday morning. They were really noisy, which is often the main sign of a catalytic converter theft.
Lopez had a message for the thieves.
"Shame on you," she said. "It could be your children that don't have a way to school. It's just, it's horrible."
So what happens to the bus drivers and school kids when the final bell rings on Wednesday afternoon? The Chicago Public Schools organization was working to obtain information.
Again, the bus company said it is working to replace the broken buses with operational ones.
CBS New Chicago asked First Student if the company had been targeted before and if any preventive measures were in place, but has yet to hear back.