NOW THIS IS A TRANSIT GEEK

Darius McCollum

McCollum has become a celebrity for escapades that began at age 15, when he piloted a subway train six stops without any passengers noticing.
He said during an interview with The Associated Press earlier this month from jail that he had the subway map memorized by the time he was 8, and tried unsuccessfully to get a job with the transit system.
Instead he became a transit impostor and has been arrested 29 times. But he is not a violent criminal — he just drives the routes, fixes tracks and takes tolls without an official job until he's caught by police.
“Both sides recognize locking him up just makes no sense” defense lawyer Sally Butler said. “It’s obvious he’s not a criminal. It’s just an illness.”

McCollumn, 48, has been diagnosed with Asperger's syndrome, a form of autism characterized by obsessive behavior.

Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/transit-obsessed-man-catches-break-stealing-bus-article-1.1428476#ixzz2c9l6HK00