More than 30 catalytic converters stolen from school buses in Connecticut
By Rob Polansky
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EAST HARTFORD, Connecticut (WFSB) — Thirty-eight catalytic converters were stolen off school buses in East Hartford over the weekend.
According to East Hartford police, 26 catalytic converters were taken from Autumn Transportation’s lot on Oakland Avenue and 12 were snatched from First Student, Inc.’s lot on Alna Lane.
They said the thefts happened at some point between Jan. 20 and Jan. 23.
“They started up one of our small buses and found out the catalytic converter was missing,” said Joseph Piscitelli, Autumn Transportation.
Autumn said it did not have to cancel any routes because it borrowed buses from other lots.
Channel 3 reached out to First Student to see how it was impacted.
“School bus operations are not impacted,” said Jay Brock, First Student spokesperson. “Our maintenance team is working to repair the impacted buses.”
Police said there was no useful surveillance video, but they continue to investigate.
There’s no word on any suspects.
Autumn said it is looking into the addition of more security to its lot.
“It’s nerve-wracking, you know, because they are just taking them all from everywhere,” Piscitelli said. “From us, from other companies, personal, all that.”
The repair costs for both companies are expected to be in the thousands.
The thefts in East Hartford came after Torrington Public Schools had to delay school for a couple of hours earlier this month. The district’s transportation company faced a similar issue.
Ten buses from All-Star Transportation’s bus yard in Torrington were impacted by catalytic converter thefts.
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