PAULDING COUNTY, Ga. — A gut-wrenching scene unfolded outside South Paulding High School on Wednesday morning after law enforcement said a student walking to school was struck by a truck on Winn Road. A backpack lay in the street surrounded by debris from the crash.

“It’s scary…it’s scary,” said parent Karmen Thornton, whose son Alex is a junior at the school.

Just two days earlier, Thornton recorded video of her son before he drove to school for the first time. She says the incident underscores what parents have long worried about: The road is unsafe for students and young drivers.

“I was just down the road dropping my other son off at school and saw the first responders taking off down Ridge Road, and of course, my heart dropped,” Thornton recalled.

She says the stretch of road nee

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