Philly Bus Driver Saves The Day, Blocks Carjackers

A Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, bus driver turned out to be a local hero after he put an end to an active carjacking via the use of his 40-foot-long bus.

Chris DeShields, who drives a bus for the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA), stopped a carjacking attempt Monday in the city’s Fishtown neighborhood.

It was late at night Monday when DeShields spotted three young men who were allegedly threatening a woman they had just forced out of a vehicle.

DeShields responded quickly, taking advantage of the bus’ long length in order to intimidate the carjackers, reports The Philadelphia Inquirer. He parked the bus across West Thompson Street, laid his horn on the suspects, flashed lights, and yelled out the windows.

“They had masks on, but you could see their eyes popping wide open,” DeShields, who has been a bus driver for 17 years, said to the paper. “Like, ‘What do we do now?’”

The gang of alleged thieves then took off, the Inquirer reports.

SEPTA has explicitly told drivers that company policy stipulates they do not involve themselves in active crime scenes for the safety of both staff and passengers.

“I caught hell in the depot the next day,” said DeShields. “My coworkers were laughing and teasing me, saying, ‘We heard you were Batman.’”

It is no secret that many types of violent crime have recently risen nationwide—with Philadelphia being no exception. The City of Brotherly Love saw 562 citizens murdered in 2021, marking an all-time high and a 12 percent increase over 2020, according to a report by TIME.

Businesses have reportedly been ‘closing left and right,’ and some local owners have been telling outlets that many do not want to run operations in the city of Philadelphia, as it is “Very dangerous.”

DeShields, who potentially saved a woman’s life, maintained he ultimately is glad to have intervened in the suspected attempted carjacking.

“If you were raised a certain way and you’ve got a bit of heart, you’re going to get involved with certain things,” DeShields said. “I’ve got a soon-to-be wife, and my sister — I would love somebody to help them if they get in a jam.”