A 17-year-old Jemison High School student who was struck by a vehicle while trying to cross U.S. Highway 31 Thursday morning is OK, officials said.

According to Jemison Police, the student was dropped off by a parent who had stopped a vehicle in or near the road and did not go through the arranged school traffic route.

Jemison Chief of Police Shane Fulmer said the student was transported to Shelby Baptist Medical Center, where he received treatment for minor injuries. Fulmer said the vehicle had come to a stop on Highway 31, across from the school, heading northbound. The student then got out of the car and went around the back, where he was struck by a vehicle heading the same direction.

“The other vehicle was slowing down to stop, which prevented worse injuries,” Fulmer said.

Fulmer and school officials worked prior to the start of the school year, developing a traffic route where students can be dropped off safely. The designated pick-up and drop-off place for parents is in the back of the school. The same holds true for the adjacent middle school.

“If he had been dropped off on school property, [the accident] would never have happened,” Jemison High School Principal Alan Thompson said in a phone interview. “We’re just glad it was nothing serious. He is an excellent student and a good kid.”

Fulmer said a number of parents insist on stopping in the middle of the road, looking for a shortcut.

“What they do not understand is that they are putting everyone in danger, including their own children,” he said.

The student went back to the school Thursday but later went home to rest, Thompson said.

The Jemison Police Department is still investigating the incident.