Joy Ride by Thief on N.Y. Bus Ends at First Sign of Trouble

LYNBROOK, N.Y. — An early morning joy ride in a New York City bus ended Wednesday when the alleged thief unwittingly tripped an emergency switch, flashing the message “CALL POLICE!” on the bus’s destination sign, authorities said.

John Gillespie, 26, of Queens Village in the borough of Queens, was arrested by a Nassau County police officer who spotted the bus just outside city limits, said Officer Frank Messana, a spokesman for the suburban police force.

“There is a new device on some of the buses that allows drivers to send an alert outside the bus without anyone knowing inside,” Messana said. “This guy apparently triggered it by accident and didn’t know it was going off.”