Police in Dublin were in for a shock when they checked on a bus parked on Sheriff Street for too long. It was abandoned, unlocked, and had the keys left in the ignition. They called the Bus Éireann company and discovered the vehicle had disappeared from Letterkenny—148 miles away—the night before.
No one knew how it completed “a very hazardous route” along the M1 highway and into Dublin. Then they checked the Letterkenny terminal’s security cameras.
Derek Dunne, 24, arrived for the 11 p.m. bus to Dublin at 10:35. The driver told him the bus was completely full. He sat and watched until 11:06, when the vehicle left without him.
At first, Dunne appeared to have no clue what to do next. Around 11:52, he got up and entered a series of parked buses before settling into one driver’s seat. He spent 45 minutes there. Then he switched on the headlights and drove away at 12:40. That’s what you might call a “Letterkenny leave.”
Dunne doesn’t have the Irish equivalent of a CDL.
An ‘unusual fascination’
How did the lad pull this off? No one’s sure. Dunne works for his uncle, who is in the heavy trucking industry, but reportedly doesn’t have a license to drive heavy trucks or buses himself.
His lawyer said Dunne has “an unusual fascination” with heavy vehicles but stressed that his choice was impulsive and rooted in panic rather than a calculated plan.
Dunne was sentenced to 18 months in prison. But the judge noted that he admitted to the crime, took full responsibility, and hadn’t damaged the bus in any way.
He reportedly lives with his grandparents because his family struggles with drug addiction. He has one previous conviction for speeding and is in jail awaiting trial for a separate crime.
All things considered, the judge deferred the prison sentence for 18 months and placed Dunne on probation. Maybe in the meantime, the bus company has a job opening.
