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Oops! 'Suspicious item' on Big Blue Bus Was Phony Left Over From Weekend Training Exercise

big-blue-bus-fare.jpg
Photo by LA Wad via the LAist Featured Photos pool on Flickr

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Cancel the panic in Del Rey! The "suspicious item" found this morning on a Santa Monica Big Blue Bus wasn't so much suspicious as it was a total oversight kind of "oops."

Turns out the "item" was not properly removed from the vehicle after being used during this weekend's multi-agency bus training exercise, according to City News Service. The item was on the bus for trainees to spot during a competition to see how well bus drivers from companies in Santa Monica, Torrance, Culver City, Montebello and Gardena do a pre-shift inspection of the vehicle, a bus company rep confirmed.

This morning, the leftover item led to police cordoning off the bus on a street in the vicinity of Culver Boulevard and Centinela Avenue before it could be declared safe.

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