Student injured at school in McDuffie County

THOMSON, Ga. -- A Thomson High School student was taken by helicopter to the Medical College of Georgia Hospital in Augusta following a serious accident at a nearby school on Friday afternoon.

McDuffie County School Superintendent Jim LeBrun said he could not release the name of the injured student or the driver involved. The accident occurred about 3 p.m. on the campus of Thomson-McDuffie Junior High School, located directly across from the high school.

Authorities said two boys were “horsing around” -- one of them sitting on the hood of a car being driven by the other. When the driver put on brakes, the other boy slid off, and struck his head on the pavement. The boy received various injuries and was treated at the scene by personnel with the McDuffie County Emergency Medical Services and local firefighters/first responders.

Sgt. Ritchie Howard of the Georgia State Patrol post in Thomson was called to investigate the mishap The case later was referred back to a school safety official, Jerry Stanphill.

Along with the law enforcement and emergency services, Mr. LeBrun said the parents of the boys were called at the time of the accident. Sgt. Howard said the accident occurred in a driveway in front of the school. Mr. LeBrun said the high school students have younger siblings who attend the junior high school, and they were there to pick them up after school.

“Of course, we certainly hope the young man is going to make a full recovery and that he’s going to be okay. But unfortunately sometimes kids don’t realize how dangerous vehicles are and how dangerous things like that can be,” he said.