HOUSTON – A Cypress mom is speaking out after her daughter was struck by a car in the Cy-Park High School parking lot. She’s accusing the school district of not doing enough to assist in the aftermath of the accident.
Natisha Walton’s daughter, Morgan Johnson, was walking to a friend’s car in the school student parking lot when she was hit and pinned by a student driver. Morgan’s friend then called Walton.
“I called the school because she was screaming, hollering,” Walton recalled.
RELATED: At least 3 Cy-Fair ISD students hit by cars within the same week
Distressed, she quickly drove to the school, arriving within 20 minutes. However, she claims she arrived on the scene at the same time as the on-campus officers, who were reportedly handling a school-wide pep rally at the time of the incident.
“I just heard a whole bunch of screaming and crying and nobody was there to assist them. No principal. No police. No nothing,” Walton said. “It took me about 15 and 20 minutes to get there, and still she was sitting out on the road screaming and crying with no help.”
In a statement, Cy-Fair Independent School District acknowledged that officers were on campus during the accident, but said they were handling a schoolwide pep-rally. The district maintains that the officers responded promptly once they were made aware of the incident, beginning an immediate investigation.
Despite the district’s statement, Walton disagrees with the explanation.
“I should not have beat the officer there,” Walton said. “If it was their child, I think they would understand a little bit better.”
Morgan will need to make another visit to the hospital before beginning physical therapy. Walton says her daughter’s road to recovery will be a long one, and she feels strongly that more could have been done to assist her daughter in the critical moments following the accident.
As Walton continues to support her daughter’s recovery, she hopes her story will encourage the school district to reassess how they handle incidents involving student safety.
Cy-Fair ISD released the following statement:
“Cypress Park HS has two officers assigned to the campus, monitoring inside and outside the building throughout the day. At the time of the accident, both officers were monitoring a schoolwide pep rally inside the building, but upon receiving notification of the accident in the student parking lot, they immediately responded and began investigating.”
