MIDDLESBORO — A Middlesboro High School sophomore is fighting a battle for her life at the University of Tennessee Medical Center after she was allegedly accidentally shot in the chest on Sunday by a family friend.

16-year-old Amanda Barnett was reportedly “wrestling around” with family friend, 35-year-old Dewayne Smith, when a gun Smith was carrying went off and hit the young woman in the side.

“The doctors didn’t think she would make it through the night (Monday),” Amanda Barnett’s step-mother Judy Barnett said. “We knew she would. She’s tough, we’ve got faith in her. And she proved them (the doctors) wrong.”

“She is on a ventilator and has kidney failure,” Amanda Barnett’s grandmother, Pati Powers said. Powers said that Barnett was listed in “critical condition”, but as of Tuesday evening, had improved slightly. Judy Barnett indicated that Amanda suffered damage to her lungs as well.

“Me, her mother and her dad have been by her side since this happened,” Judy Barnett said. “And we’re not going anywhere.”

Smith was arrested and charged with first degree assault. He remains in custody at the Bell County Detention Center on a $250,000 bond. He pleaded not guilty in an arraignment on Monday and will be back in court on Thursday.

Powers and Judy Barnett both declined comment regarding Smith.

Brandy Calvert is the managing editor for the Middlesboro Daily News. Contact her via e-mail at editor@middlesborodailynews.com.