Cobb high school senior dies after getting hit by DUI driver

COBB COUNTY, Ga. — A Cobb County teenager is dead and a Powder Springs man has been charged with DUI and vehicular manslaughter.

Police said the driver, 68-year-old Jerome Cox, hit senior Olivia Pugh with his SUV in Kennesaw along Ben King Road Friday. The force of the impact sent Pugh flying into the woods.

Pugh died from her injuries on Sunday.

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Investigators said Cox was under the influence of alcohol at the time of the accident. He now faces a number of charges including DUI and vehicular homicide.

Channel 2′s Audrey Washington was at Harrison High School in Cobb County, where students held a moment of silence for Pugh Tuesday.

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“It makes me sad,” student Daniel Thompson said. “She was at the beginning of her life and just got killed like that.”

You could see the grief on students’ faces Tuesday.

In a statement, a Cobb County District official wrote, in part,

“It is with great sadness that we announce the sudden passing of Harrison student Olivia Pugh. Our hearts are heavy, and we will keep Olivia’s family, friends, and the entire Harrison community in our thoughts, knowing the loss will be felt even more this holiday season.”

Grief counselors were on campus on Tuesday.

“Hopefully, we’ll keep praying about it and keep working it out,” Thompson said.

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