Accident Brings Pedestrian Safety Concerns in Paulding County

The mother of a young Paulding County girl who was hit by a car and left in a coma for nine days says the accident could have been prevented if there were sidewalks and crosswalks in the neighborhood.

Just weeks ago, Jennifer Afrunti’s 13-year-old daughter, Nadia, was crossing from one side of a highway to the other to get to Paulding County High School. She was hit by a driver whom police say was going between 45 and 55 miles per hour.

Nadia’s neurosurgeon says her situation was dire, but they did everything they could for her. She was immediately rushed into surgery, and Afrunti realied she might have been laying eyes on her daughter for the last time.

”I tried to just relish the fact that I was given the opportunity to go give her a kiss and to let her know that I loved her, said Afrunti.

Nadia was in a coma for nine days after having part of her skull removed, but she eventually made a miraculous recovery.

To go to and from school, Nadia and those who live near her have to break the law and cross the highway to get there. A petition is circulating to improve safety for the neighborhood’s children, but in a response to FOX 5’s request from the DOT, they said that research was conducted on that stretch of highway.

The DOT statement said:

”Simply marking a crosswalk does not necessarily improve pedestrian safety. They concluded that crosswalk at this location, therefore, was not the answer. It would simply give the students a false sense of safety and increase the risk of pedestrian accidents, since there are no sidewalks for them to use once they cross the highway.

For Afrunti, that provides little solace.

The driver who struck Nadia was not charged in the case. Nadia is still recovering from her injuries.