Marietta father, daughter survived Sunday's storm 'by the grace of God'

MARIETTA, Ga. - A Cobb County dad is grateful his daughter is home from the hospital after a tree came crashing through their home in Marietta. Dangerous storms toppled dozens of trees on Sunday morning, and the cleanup is still far from over.

"By the grace of God, by the grace of God," is how father Dedrick Zackery described his and his daughter’s escape from their home. He fell asleep on the couch and woke up to chaos.

Dedrick Zackery says he was forced to rescue his daughter after a powerful storm tore through their Marietta neighborhood on Dec. 29, 2024. (FOX 5)

"It all of a sudden sounded like the train was right next to me, and the house was shaking, and it knocked me to the floor," said Zackery. He desperately tried to get to his daughter who was sleeping just down the hall.

"Something came down and knocked me down, and I couldn’t get back up, and the house was still shaking so I’m starting to crawl. I’m yelling her name, she’s yelling my name," said Zackery.

A tree blocked the bedroom where his 24-year-old daughter was sleeping, so he crawled outside. "I started tapping on the wall outside and said, ‘listen to my voice,’" said Zackery. "It’s pitch black, water’s coming down on her, she had a beam dangling above her head. I was able to use my neighbor Thomas’ ladder and jammed the window up, and that’s how I was able to get her out."

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They rushed to the emergency room to get checked out, and thankfully there were no broken bones, just some bad cuts and bruises for dad and daughter. "All you can think about is your child and saving your child," said Zackery.

All of this damage came from a fast-moving storm with dangerous straight-line winds, according to the FOX 5 Storm Team. Three tornadoes touched down in Georgia during the severe weather early Sunday, over Meriwether, Coweta, and Fayette counties. The neighbors living in Cobb County off of Bryant Lane and Corral Drive said it felt like a tornado ripped through their area too.

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"It sounded like a MARTA bus came through the ceiling; you knew it was a tree, no way around it," said Ruben Ramirez. "You’re just numb, you can’t even react."

Now, the families in this neighborhood are left to rebuild. Crews on the ground said it will take months to get this street back to normal.

The family has set up a GoFundMe account.