Teen struck by school official over parking lot space

CARTERSVILLE, Georgia (WHDH) -- A parking lot showdown was caught on camera. Surveillance show a girl in the dark pants, standing in a parking space, then a white SUV drives down the aisle, pauses, and his the girl.

“I thought she was just going to pull in, I didn't actually think she was going to hit me,” said Emily Guligdge.

Emily Guligdge said she was holding a parking spot for her brother's girlfriend who was a new mom, at this Walmart in Cartersville, Georgia, when things got ugly.

“She approached and rolled down her window and told me to me, and I very politely said I’m saving the parking space, she tells me to move again and she rams me with her vehicle,” said Gulidge.

The case is getting a lot of attention, because it turns out the driver Angela Cornette is the vice chair of the Vito County School Board - the same district where Gulidge is a high school senior.

“I was the child in the situation and she acted like the child,” said Gulidge.

Police reviewed the video, measured the tire mark on the girl’s jeans, and arrested Cornette. She's charged with reckless conduct, a misdemeanor.

“From watching the video it's obvious that pedestrian was standing there when the vehicle lunged forward, and it has to move out of the way very quickly."

But Cornette's attorney claimed the teenager leaned into his client's vehicle. The marks left behind he says only show the dirty tires appeared to of brushed against her, not that she was run over.

“Mrs. Cornette regrets that this incident occurred. I think it has been bad for everybody that has been involved, however we do not believe that there have been any laws that have been broken,” said Cornette’s attorney.

Gulidge disagrees, “the video says it all.”

Gulidge said she thinks the school board members should face a more serious charge. Something police say they are looking into.

“I can't believe that somebody would actually hit somebody with their vehicle especially over a parking space that's not really important at all,” said Gulidge.

The district superintendent is withholding comment until this case makes its way through the courts.