Georgia · Forsyth · Monroe County
Mary Persons High School Accident in Forsyth, GA: Teacher Hospitalized After Being Hit by a Student Driver in the Junior Parking Lot
A student driving a vehicle in the junior parking lot at Mary Persons High School hit a teacher during afternoon dismissal Tuesday, the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office said. The teacher was alert and conscious, complained of leg pain and was taken to a local hospital, and Monroe County Schools described the injuries as not life threatening.
Key facts
- What
- A student driving a vehicle struck a teacher, the sheriff’s office said
- Where
- The junior parking lot at Mary Persons High School, Forsyth, Monroe County
- When
- 2:57 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 8, 2026, during afternoon dismissal
- Injured
- One teacher, not identified. Alert and conscious, complaining of leg pain
- Hospital
- Taken to a local hospital; Monroe County Schools said the injuries are not life threatening
- Investigating
- Monroe County Sheriff’s Office
- Status
- The sheriff’s office said the investigation is in its preliminary stages
- What happened in the Mary Persons High School junior parking lot?
- What is known about the teacher’s condition?
- Which Forsyth is this, and where is the school?
- What is the timeline of Tuesday afternoon?
- What does Georgia law say about high school students who drive to school?
- Which agency holds the report, and how are Georgia records released?
- What happens next in this investigation?
- What else has Monroe County seen recently?
- What don’t we know yet?
- What are readers asking about this accident?
What happened in the Mary Persons High School junior parking lot?
A teacher was hit by a student driver in the junior parking lot at Mary Persons High School on Tuesday afternoon, the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office said. The school is in the city of Forsyth, the seat of Monroe County, in middle Georgia.
Deputies put the moment at 2:57 p.m. and said the call that brought them out described a student and a teacher in an accident, WGXA reported. WSB-TV placed it just before 3 p.m.
The sheriff’s office described the contact as accidental. Monroe County Schools said in a Facebook post that it happened as the school was letting students out for the day, 41NBC reported.
What is known about the teacher’s condition?
The teacher was alert and conscious when deputies reached the lot and complained of pain in a leg, the sheriff’s office said. The teacher was taken to a hospital in the area.
Monroe County Schools said in a Facebook post that the injuries are not life threatening.
The teacher has not been named.
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Which Forsyth is this, and where is the school?
Georgia has two places by that name, and they sit in different parts of the state. This one is the city of Forsyth, the seat of Monroe County, in middle Georgia.
Forsyth County, the fast-growing suburban county on the north side of metro Atlanta, is a different place altogether and has no part in this story.
Monroe County straddles Interstate 75 on the run between Macon and Atlanta. Mary Persons High School is in Forsyth and is run by Monroe County Schools.
What is the timeline of Tuesday afternoon?
| Time | What happened |
|---|---|
| Tuesday afternoon | Afternoon dismissal is under way at Mary Persons High School, Monroe County Schools said |
| 2:57 p.m. | A teacher is struck by a student driving in the junior lot, according to the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office |
| 2:57 p.m. | Deputies are sent to the campus on a call reporting a student and a teacher in an accident |
| At the scene | The teacher is alert and conscious and complains of leg pain, the sheriff’s office said |
| Tuesday afternoon | The teacher is taken to a local hospital |
| Tuesday afternoon | Monroe County Schools posts on Facebook that a staff member was hospitalized and that the injuries are not life threatening |
What does Georgia law say about high school students who drive to school?
The vehicle in the lot was being driven by a student, the sheriff’s office said. Georgia licenses drivers under 18 in stages, and the stages are set out in O.C.G.A. § 40-5-24 (2025), titled “Instruction permits; graduated licensing and related restrictions; temporary licenses.”
The first stage is the instruction permit, open to a Georgia resident who is at least 15. A permit holder may drive only with a licensed driver at least 21 years old, fit and capable of taking control of the vehicle, seated beside them.
The next stage is the Class D license. A resident who is at least 16, who has held a permit for 12 months, whose driving record is clear of the offenses the statute lists and who has finished the required course work and supervised driving can apply for one.
That statute governs how a young driver is licensed. It does not decide fault in any particular accident, and nothing has been released about the license held by the student in this one.
Which agency holds the report, and how are Georgia records released?
The Monroe County Sheriff’s Office worked the scene, so the incident record on this accident sits with that agency rather than with the school system or a city police department.
Records held by a Georgia sheriff’s office fall under the Georgia Open Records Act. The timing rule is O.C.G.A. § 50-18-71 (2025), which requires an agency to produce records responsive to a request within a reasonable amount of time not to exceed three business days of getting it.
Where responsive records exist but cannot be produced inside that window, the same subsection requires the agency to describe them and give a timeline within those three business days. A request may be made to the custodian of the record either orally or in writing.
If an agency withholds all or part of a record, subsection (d) requires it to tell the requester the specific Code section, subsection and paragraph it is relying on, again within three business days.
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What happens next in this investigation?
The sheriff’s office said the investigation is in its preliminary stages, which is the point at which deputies are still fixing what happened rather than reaching a conclusion about it.
Any citation arising from an accident worked by deputies would come from the sheriff’s office. The agency has not announced a citation or a charge.
The accident remains under investigation, WSB-TV reported, and no identities have been released.
What else has Monroe County seen recently?
In late August, two of the four southbound lanes of I-75 near exits 187 to 189 in Monroe County were closed across two weekends for concrete and spalling repairs.
Earlier that month, a water main break on Collier Road cut service to customers on three county roads and brought a boil water advisory once the water came back.
Everything filed from the county sits on the Monroe County page.
What don’t we know yet?
- The teacher’s name, subject or role at the school — nothing has been released
- Anything about the student who was driving, including grade, license status or how long the student had been driving
- Which hospital the teacher was taken to, and the teacher’s condition since arriving there
- How the vehicle came to strike the teacher, and whether the teacher was on foot or in the traffic lane of the lot
- No citation or charge has been announced by the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office
- Whether the school system is running its own review alongside the sheriff’s investigation
- Whether anyone else in the lot was hurt
What are readers asking about this accident?
What happened at Mary Persons High School on Tuesday?
A student driving a vehicle in the junior parking lot at Mary Persons High School in Forsyth struck a teacher during afternoon dismissal on Tuesday, Sept. 8, 2026. The Monroe County Sheriff's Office said the teacher was hit accidentally.
What time did the Mary Persons High School accident happen?
The Monroe County Sheriff's Office put the time at 2:57 p.m. WSB-TV placed the accident just before 3 p.m.
How badly was the teacher hurt?
The teacher was alert and conscious and complained of leg pain, the sheriff's office said, and was taken to a local hospital. Monroe County Schools said in a Facebook post that the injuries are not life threatening.
Has the student or the teacher been identified?
No. Neither the student who was driving nor the teacher who was struck has been named.
Has anyone been cited or charged?
The Monroe County Sheriff's Office has not announced a citation or a charge. The agency said the investigation is in its preliminary stages.
Which agency is investigating the Mary Persons High School accident?
The Monroe County Sheriff's Office, which was called to the school after a student and a teacher were involved in an accident.
Is this Forsyth County near Atlanta?
No. This is the city of Forsyth, the county seat of Monroe County, in middle Georgia along Interstate 75 between Macon and Atlanta. Forsyth County is a separate county north of Atlanta and has no part in this story.
What does Georgia law say about students who drive to school?
Georgia licenses drivers under 18 in stages under O.C.G.A. Section 40-5-24. A Class D license, available to residents who are at least 16 and who have held an instruction permit for 12 months, bars driving between midnight and 5 a.m. and limits how many passengers under 21 who are not immediate family may ride along.
Which agency holds the report on this accident?
The Monroe County Sheriff's Office. Records held by a Georgia sheriff's office fall under the Georgia Open Records Act, and O.C.G.A. Section 50-18-71 requires an agency to produce responsive records within a reasonable amount of time not to exceed three business days of a request.
Sources
- WSB-TV — Report on the Monroe County school parking lot accident, Sept. 8, 2026
- WGXA — Report on the Mary Persons High School junior lot accident, Sept. 8, 2026
- 41NBC / WMGT — Report on the Mary Persons High School accident, updated Sept. 8, 2026
- O.C.G.A. § 40-5-24 (2025) — Instruction permits; graduated licensing and related restrictions; temporary licenses
- O.C.G.A. § 50-18-71 (2025) — Right of access; timing; fees; denial of requests; impact of electronic records
Compiled by The Local Alert Georgia Staff from three named outlets, linked above, and from the text of the Georgia Code sections cited. The account of the accident is attributed to the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office; the description of the injuries as not life threatening is attributed to Monroe County Schools. Neither the teacher nor the student has been identified, and no citation or charge has been announced. The Local Alert is not a law enforcement agency and not a law firm. Corrections and removal requests: see our corrections policy.
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