Inset: Misty Sue Coleman (Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office). Background: The Chattanooga Girls Leadership Academy in Tennessee (Google Maps).
A 48-year-old mother in Tennessee has been arrested after she allegedly became so angry at her daughter for missing the bus that she struck the child with a car after dropping her off in the school parking lot.
Misty Sue Coleman was taken into custody following the incident last week and charged with one count of aggravated child abuse or neglect, authorities announced. According to a news release from the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office, the incident took place on the morning of Tuesday, Aug. 19, at the Chattanooga Girls Leadership Academy, which is located in the 1800 block of Bailey Avenue in Chattanooga.
The school, which serves students from grades 6-12, is about 140 miles southeast of Nashville.
That morning, the “School Resource Deputy” assigned to the academy responded to the school’s administration office regarding a report of a student “being struck by their mother’s vehicle in the school parking lot,” the sheriff’s office said.
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The school staff told investigators that Coleman’s daughter, whose name and age were not disclosed, came into the principal’s office that morning “visibly upset” and told administrators that her mother — whom she identified as Coleman — “became angry after the child missed the school bus.”
“While exiting the vehicle, the student stated the mother accelerated before the child was fully outside, striking the victim’s right ankle and driving away from campus without stopping,” the sheriff’s office wrote in the release.
Investigators were able to obtain surveillance footage from the school’s parking lot, which they said corroborated the victim’s account of what took place.
“The video showed the student partially exiting the rear passenger side before the vehicle accelerated, striking the child and leaving the scene with the door still open,” the release states.
Following the preliminary investigation, deputies arrested Coleman on the abuse charge. Due to the ongoing nature of the investigation and the fact that it “pertains to a juvenile,” the sheriff’s office said it would not release any additional details about the case.
Coleman was released from detention after posting bond and is currently scheduled to appear in General Sessions Court on the morning of Sept. 3, records show.
