CLARKE COUNTY, Ga. — A school bus driver and group of students had a frightening encounter with a stranger who jumped inside the bus and tried to drive away. For the first time, one of the students described what he saw that day.
The Clarke County School District shared with Channel 2's Audrey Washington surveillance video from inside the school bus.
A man could be seen walking toward the bus and eventually getting on. The bus driver screamed and pleaded, but the man refused to get off.
"You can't get on the bus. Please get off the bus," the driver said in the video.
Zamari Allen, 10, was on the bus that day and described to Washington what he saw.
"She had stopped the bus to pick a student up and then he got on the bus and started pushing the gas," Allen said.
Video from a second and third camera showed students running toward the back of the bus for safety. At the same time, officials said a parent ran onto the bus and convinced the man to get off.
Zamari's mom, Shay Allen, didn't recognize the man or understand why he got on the bus in the first place. She's thankful both the bus driver and parent acted so quickly.
"I think they did good because he didn't harm nobody's child," Shay Allen said.
The district identified the man as Fred Woods, according to our partners at the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. The Clarke County Sheriff's Office issued warrants for Woods' arrest for charges of criminal trespass, reckless conduct and disturbing the operations of a public school