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CNN ATLANTA An angry, naked man commandeered a school bus full of teenage students Thursday in Atlanta, police said. The man drove the bus for less than a mile before a student confronted him and the bus crashed into a wall off the road, according to police. The incident started Thursday afternoon when the bus stopped to let students out, said Atlanta police officer James Polite. Arris Pitmon, 23, darted toward the bus and hoisted himself in through an open window, Polite said. Pitmon took control of the bus as the frightened driver ran to the back of it, the officer said. While the bus was moving, the man abandoned the steering wheel and walked toward the back of the bus, Polite added. A student then ran toward the steering wheel, prompting the man to fight the student. The unmanned bus continued until it left the roadway and crashed. Students fled the bus, many using the back door emergency exit, and onlookers subdued the man until police arrived. Some students were taken to area hospitals. Their conditions weren't available Thursday night. Chiquita Rogers told CNN affiliate WXIA that the man had tried to hit some of the students, including her 16-year-old, Donte. "He pushed my son, and that's when my son hit him. I guess everybody started swinging, and everybody just started out the back door, jumping. I'm just grateful that my son is still alive, because it could have been worse." Onlooker Corey Turner told WXIA, "Children were jumping out the emergency door ... jumping off the bus. ... They were saying, 'Help, help, help! ... Somebody hijacked the bus.'"
ATLANTA JOURNAL Avoiding any future school bus hijackings is one of many priorities of officials with the Atlanta Public Schools system. As officials from the district's security and transportation departments continue to investigate the incident where a man forced himself onto a school bus transporting Forrest Hills Academy students Thursday afternoon, Atlanta Police are holding the man at the Grady hospital detention center. Arris Pitmon, 23, faces a list of charges including 13 counts of false imprisonment, 13 counts of reckless conduct, four counts of battery, one count of theft by taking, one count of interference with government property and one count of damage to property. Pitmon boarded the bus, through the driver side window, as it stopped at Boulevard and Burroughs Road, briefly fought with the driver, forcing her out of the seat and took control of the bus. He is recovering from injuries he received when, after the bus jumped a sidewalk, slid down a hill and crashed into a fence, where parents and bystanders attacked him. Keith Bromley, school district media relations director, said everyone involved in the incident is being interviewed. “We are trying to see what sort of processes or protocols could be put in place in the future,” he said. “Or if there are any lessons that can be learned from this.” It is hard to determine, Bromley said, adding that Thursday’s outcome is probably the best outcome anyone could have hoped. “Buses are top heavy. There are any number of scenarios that could have happened,” he said. “It could have resulted in much serious injuries.” Last that he heard, a young man who was transported to the hospital after the incident is still being held, but his injuries are not severe. The bus driver was checked at the hospital and released soon after. It is unclear when Pitmon will appear in court and face the charges against him.
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