AHOSKIE – It’s long and yellow and should be easy to spot.

Such was the case Wednesday afternoon after a student at Hertford County High School was arrested for allegedly stealing a Hertford County Public Schools bus.

Hertford County Sheriff Juan Vaughan reported that Jacobia Reid III, 17, of 124 Pine Street, Murfreesboro, was arrested and charged with larceny of a motor vehicle. Reid was placed under a $10,000 secured bond.

Sheriff Vaughan said the vehicle was taken around 1:40 p.m. from the bus parking lot at Hertford County High School. Reid was arrested 20 minutes later.

Ahoskie Police officers and Hertford County Sheriff’s deputies began looking for bus #198. It was spotted on Modlin Road by APD Major Jimmy Asbell.

According to Asbell’s constant updates on the situation, heard over the police scanner, he activated the blue lights and siren on his police vehicle, but the bus driver, later identified as Reid, failed to stop.

The bus turned onto Union Road; kept straight at the Union intersection and traveled along Boone Farm Road until reaching NC 11 near Beechwood Country Club. There it turned left onto NC 11 North towards Murfreesboro. The bus came to a stop a short distance later at which time Reid was placed under arrest by HCSO Sgt. Scott Cofield.

Prior to and after the bus was stopped, smoke was noted coming from the left rear tire of the vehicle. Asbell then reported seeing flames in the same area of the bus. That blaze was snuffed out by a fire extinguisher, but the Union Volunteer Fire Department was summoned as a precautionary measure.

The amount of damage to the bus is unknown.

There were no other students onboard the bus.