Open road: Fissure swallows car in northeast Georgia city after heavy rain
ATHENS, Ga. – This is not what motorists had in mind when dreaming about open-road driving.
Heavy rains in northeastern Georgia opened up a fissure that swallowed a car early Wednesday, authorities said.
Strong storms and winds moved through the metro Atlanta area on Tuesday night, flooding roads and toppling trees, WSB-TV reported. As the storm moved eastward, a sinkhole opened up on an Athens road, causing a vehicle to fall into the crevice, according to the television station.
Between 3 to 4.5 inches of rain drenched Clarke County, the Athens Banner-Herald reported.
Floodwaters caused a road to cave in after rains overnight in Athens, Georgia.
“If there were any closed roads, it’s definitely not surprising at all,” National Weather Service lead forecaster Kyle Thiem told the newspaper. “This a pretty significant event and that’s over 24 hours.”
Photos released by the Athens-Clarke County Police Department showed a white sedan appearing to teeter on the road until it fell into the fissure, WSB reported.
The motorist became stuck when the vehicle straddled a section of Olympic Road that had washed out, the Banner-Herald reported. Athens-Clarke County Police Lt. Shaun Barnett told the newspaper that the motorist was able to safely exit the car.
The vehicle eventually fell into the deep fissure.
