Five had to be rescued when driver ignored Douglas County road barricade

By Rhonda Cook

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Five people had to be pulled from deep water across a Douglas County road Tuesday because one of them ignored a barricade that warned of danger ahead and four came to the rescue, authorities said.

County spokesman Wes Tallon said the sun was up – it was 9 a.m. – and Sweetwater Creek had obviously flooded Blairs Bridge Road but a driver still tried to get through it. Authorities had to save five people who couldn't get out of the flowing water.

Gov. Sonny Perdue said a car, no matter how big or how high is sits, is “no match for water flowing over the road.”

Authorities in areas hardest hit by flooding are now having to keep people from driving on roads weakened because the dirt underneath is gone and from crossing bridges that have not been inspected or have already been found to be unsafe.

“People who feel they need to rush back and check on their belongings, we just need them to exercise caution,” said Ken Davis, head of the Georgia Emergency Management Agency.

“It’s needless,” Davis said of people who drive past barricades, thinking it’s safe now that the rain is no longer falling.

Cpl. Brandon Gurley of the Paulding County Sheriff’s Office said deputies were being posted at most remaining barricades but still some people will try to drive past.

“Most of our road closures are not because of water on the roads,” Gurley said

Even if a bridge or road is not underwater or obviously damaged, “don’t get within 100 feet of it” if there is a barricade, said Georgia Department of Transportation spokesman Mark McKinnon.

The state must inspect each closed bridge before it reopens.

“It can be a dangerous situation,” McKinnon said. “We don’t want people taking chances and we don’t want to take chances with the [authorities having to] do more rescues.”