Washed out road swallows car in Clarke County
A car gets stuck after a fissure opens up in the middle of a roadway in Clarke County due to flooding on Jan. 4, 2023. (Athens-Clarke County Police Department )
ATHENS, Ga. - Dramatic images shared by the Athens-Clarke County Police Department shows a car seemingly being swallowed by growing a fissure caused by flooding.
The most important thing is no one was injured by the road failure.
This happened along Olympic Drive between Hancock Industrial Boulevard and Athena Drive. Police say a black car had just gone over the area of the roadway near a small creek that runs into the East Fork of Trail Creek.
Police say the roadway crumbled beneath that car, opening about a five to 10 foot fissure. When a white sedan came along, police say it was not able to stop in time and got stuck between the opposing sides of the aperture.
TORNADO CONFIRMED IN COWETA COUNTY, FLOOD WARNINGS CONTINUES IN METRO ATLANTA
A car that got stuck in a newly opened fissure in the middle of a Clarke County roadway falls in the schism widens on Jan. 4, 2023. (Athens-Clarke County Police Department )
It was not immediately known how the driver safely navigated their way out of the vehicle without being injured.
As the schism grew, police say the white sedan eventually fell into the gap.
This is just the first of two major roadways in Clarke County to shut down due to flooding. Police say Charlie Bolton Road between Lem Edwards Road and Smithonia Road was also closed after the creek there washed out the road’s foundations.
There was no word on when the roadways would reopen.
The FOX 5 Storm Team say 4.76 inches of rain officially fell in the Athens area with some localized totals being higher during the storms.