Students, Citizens Thwart School Bus Hijacking
August 27, 2009 by national
Filed under Incident Reports
Quick thinking by a dozen teenagers may have avoided an apparent school bus hijacking from turning tragic, said witnesses. A man boarded a bus as it stopped at Boulevard and Burroughs Road and tried to take control of it, school district and Atlanta police officials said. The suspect briefly fought with the bus driver, forcing her out of the seat and taking control of the vehicle.
At about 4 p.m. Thursday afternoon, an Atlanta Public Schools bus ran off of Boulevard Road after Arris Pitmon, 23, forced his way onto the bus transporting Forrest Hills Academy students and began attacking the driver and a student.
Pitmon boarded the bus as it stopped at Boulevard and Burroughs Road, school district and Atlanta police officials said.
He briefly fought with the driver, forcing her out of the seat and taking control of the bus. He attempted to drive the bus, but then went after the driver who had gone to the back of the bus with the students.
As other students escaped through the back emergency exit, one-by-one, along with the bus driver, a 16 year old male tried to take control of the steering wheel and fought with Pitmon.
Eventually, the bus jumped a sidewalk, slid down a hill and crashed into a fence.
