The body of a 30-year-old man was discovered Wednesday afternoon after a large tree split in half and fell on his home in southwest Atlanta, authorities said.
The tree fell in the 1500 block of Linda Way as widespread rain from Tropical Storm Sally made its way through metro Atlanta. Three people were reportedly trapped inside, Atlanta Fire Rescue said in a tweet. One man was rescued by firefighters and a second person managed to escape on their own.
The third person, identified by authorities as Gerald Crawford, was unaccounted for when firefighters arrived on scene. His body was discovered shortly after 5:30 p.m. when crews were finally able to enter the home.
🚨 Report of 3 people trapped by large tree that fell on house at 1572 Linda Way SW. One male rescued by firefighters and one person able to escape on their own. 1 person unaccounted for. Power lines down on home. #AFRD #Treedown pic.twitter.com/GdUG4Z0GQG
— Atlanta Fire Rescue (@ATLFireRescue) September 16, 2020
One friend told Channel 2 Action News that Crawford was an aspiring attorney who was set to take his bar exam next week.
Power lines also fell onto the house, which is located next to an apartment complex. Firefighters at the scene sawed wooden planks and used them to stabilize the fallen tree before they could get inside, authorities said.
Sally weakened from a hurricane to a tropical storm as it made landfall Wednesday, but it still brought historic flooding to Alabama and the Florida Panhandle.
While the storm’s impact on metro Atlanta isn’t as severe, afternoon showers prompted crashes on several interstates ahead of the evening commute.
Heavier rain from Sally will be moving in over the next few hours. I'll be tracking this live on Channel 2. pic.twitter.com/ibyFAk3pEx
— Brad Nitz (@BradNitzWSB) September 16, 2020
A flash flood watch has been issued for most of North Georgia through Friday morning, and at least one Gwinnett County road remains closed after heavy rain caused a sinkhole in Dacula. McMillian Road is shut down between Stanley Road and Winder Highway until further notice, Gwinnett police said.
Traffic Alert: McMillian Rd. in Dacula is closed between Stanley Rd. & Winder Hwy. due to a sink hole caused by the floods. pic.twitter.com/qCvFnUfti1
— Gwinnett County Police (@GwinnettPd) September 16, 2020
Channel 2 meteorologist Brad Nitz said showers are expected to intensify overnight and into Thursday morning, dumping between 3 and 6 inches of rain on metro Atlanta. Some areas south of I-20 could see as much as 8 inches of rainfall by morning, he said.
“Overnight (Wednesday) and into tomorrow morning, it is just going to be hours and hours of heavy rain,” Nitz said, which could lead to heavy ponding on roads and flooding across some parts of North Georgia.
