Board member allegedly hit teen in Walmart dispute

CARTERSVILLE, Ga. — A Bartow County school board member faces misdemeanor charges after deputies said she hit a teenager with her SUV during a dispute over a Walmart parking spot.

Deputies arrested Angela Cornett on Friday afternoon after the parking space altercation.

According to the official criminal report, a 17-year-old girl stood in a parking spot at the Cartersville Walmart to hold it for a friend who had just given birth.

She didn't want the friend to have to walk too far into the store. But when Cornett arrived in her SUV, deputies said she wanted the space too, and that led to a verbal disagreement.

"She told her to move and then she pulled into the parking spot and hit her with the tire of the vehicle," said Bartow County Sheriff's Office Investigator Jonathan White. "They did see scuff marks on the victim's knee, which was consistent with the height of the tire during that incident."

Family members said Cornett was out of town and unavailable for comment, but in the report, she claimed she told the teen to move and as she pulled into the space, the teen "leaned against her vehicle and started to yell, 'She hit me.'" In the report, Cornett's daughter corroborated her story.

But when deputies examined the Walmart security camera video, they said it showed "the SUV stops as (the teen) stands in the parking space and suddenly accelerates. (The teen) is struck by the vehicle, and she is physically moved by the force of the vehicle."

After examining the video, deputies charged Cornett with misdemeanor reckless conduct and took her to jail. She later bonded out.

The teen was not seriously injured.

WSBTV