An Orangeville teen is recovering in hospital after being struck by a car witnesses say was being driven erratically in a school parking lot.

Witnesses tell CTV News 18-year-old Jen Coats was in the student parking lot at Orangeville District Secondary School on Tuesday over the lunch hour when she was hit by a speeding car.

She was rushed to hospital with serious injuries. Three other people were also assessed at the scene by paramedics.

Coats tweeted on Wednesday, “I’m alive. Forever grateful for my family, my friends and the support from everyone else.”

“When you get that call that a student's been hit by a vehicle, it's a very scary thing and the thing we worry most about is the well-being of our kids,” says Carlo Zen, superintendent of education with the Upper Grand District School Board.

Orangeville police say the driver, a 17-year-old student, has been charged with dangerous operation of a motor vehicle causing bodily harm and criminal negligence causing bodily harm. His identity is protected under the Youth Criminal Justice Act.

Students say it was a prank gone terribly wrong.

"My mother taught me when I first got my driver's licence that it's the same as a gun licence. If you don't use a car properly you've got a weapon that can kill people. It's serious and hopefully it was just a bad decision and everyone's okay in the end,” says parent Tracey Newman.

The school board says it will look at improving its security measures and parking and traffic issues to ensure this doesn’t happen again.