ATLANTA , Georgia ( CNN ) -- 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 were n'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 . ' ''
Police : Officer Smith ran toward the bus and climbed in through an open window . Pitmon took control of the bus then abandoned it while it was moving , police said . The bus crashed and some students were taken to area hospitals .