Ryan Brock, 19, of Lancaster, is facing a laundry list of charges including theft, aggravated assault and eluding police, after he crashed a stolen bus into a tree around 3 a.m. Thursday.
The tree is in Charles Smith’s Upper Leacock Township front yard.
“Just lucky it didn’t hit the house,” Smith said.
Smith’s yard now looks like a pretty bad storm hit it. The tree blocked the school bus from hitting Smith’s home, where he and his family slept.
“You see the yard’s all dug up. It all has to be landscaped,” he said. “It took all of the bark off of the tree. The bus was wrapped around the tree.”
East Lampeter Township Police Lt. Robin Weaver said the bus crash in Smith’s yard was the end of Brock’s overnight crime spree.
The Lancaster teen is accused of running away from an accident just before 3 a.m. at the intersection of Newport Road and Creek Hill Road, where he was driving a stolen SUV. The Toyota Highlander was stolen from Steffy’s Garage at 235 W. Main Street overnight.
After the hit-and-run, Lt. Weaver said Brock then stole a Conestoga Valley School Bus from a nearby lot.
With officers on his tail, he crashed the bus onto Smith’s property at the corner of Hertzog Drive and East Main Street.
An officer used a taser on Brock when he refused to surrender to police.
“I give credit to our patrol officers, they did an amazing job locating this guy, preventing anybody from getting hurt at those accident scenes and taking him into custody,” Lt. Weaver said.
This is the second time someone has driven a vehicle through Smith’s yard. About two years ago, a car left the roadway, drove right up onto the lawn and crashed into the bushes. Still, Mr. Smith says he’s not going anywhere.
“I’ve lived here some 30-something years. No, I wouldn’t move. It’s a nice area,” he said.
Brock is also charged with stealing a Dodge Caravan from Lancaster Mitsubishi Wednesday night. Officers found that minivan abandoned at Steffy’s Garage.
Lancaster Police have charged Brock in connection with another stolen bus incident from August. Police say Brock stole a school bus from a bus company in Delaware and drove it to Lancaster city. He was captured on the bus’ surveillance cameras.