In what might be the most satisfying Muni collision in San Francisco history, a suspected car thief fleeing police crashed head-on into an SF Muni bus this week. For once, Muni's notorious bulk worked in the city's favor.

Here's what we know: a suspect allegedly stole a vehicle and, when confronted by police, decided that a high-speed getaway through city streets was a better life choice than pulling over. That decision ended abruptly when several tons of public transit said otherwise.

Let's be clear — we're glad nobody was seriously hurt, including any Muni passengers who were just trying to get home. But there's something almost poetic about a city that has struggled mightily to hold criminals accountable getting an assist from its own beleaguered bus fleet. The SFPD didn't even need to deploy spike strips. They had a 40-foot, diesel-powered roadblock already in service.

This incident, darkly comedic as it is, underscores a real problem. Car theft in San Francisco remains rampant. Drivers have been breaking into and stealing vehicles across the city with something approaching impunity for years now. When thieves feel confident enough to steal a car and then lead police on a chase through crowded streets, that tells you something about the state of deterrence — or the lack thereof.

The city's revolving-door approach to property crime has real consequences. Every stolen car represents a person — often a working San Franciscan who can't afford to just shrug it off — left stranded, dealing with insurance headaches, and wondering why they pay some of the highest taxes in the country for the privilege of having their stuff taken.

We'd love to live in a city where it doesn't take a head-on collision with a bus to stop a car thief. That would require prosecutors who actually prosecute, judges who set meaningful bail, and a criminal justice system that treats property crime like it matters. Until then, at least Muni showed up when it counted.

Muni bus: 1. Suspected car thief: 0. We'll take the wins where we can get them.