On this day, May 8, in 1993, 16-year-old Keron Thomas took a New York City subway train and its 2,000 passengers on a three-and-a-half-hour ride.
Thomas, a teenage train buff from a Brooklyn high school, disguised himself as a train operator and got behind the controls of the A train.
Nobody noticed a problem until the train rounded a curve at a too high rate of speed, tripping the train’s emergency brakes. Still, the full scope of Thomas’ sensational theft was unknown until he was taken to the transit authority for drug testing, a standard procedure for train operators who are caught speeding. It was there that his identity became apparent.
The adolescent’s actions captured the city’s imagination, he became something of a folk hero and the judge gave him probation.
But a year after the high-profile joy ride, Thomas was charged with stabbing another teenager in a dispute over a dice game. His probation was extended. He became an electrician who helps wire the city’s traffic signals.
