A Georgia man died Thursday after a tree fell on his car along the Spur in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
Authorities identified the man as Barry Willard Wallace, 73, of Cedartown. He was the only person in the Honda Odyssey he was driving on the southbound side of the Spur/U.S. 441 between the Welcome Center and Gatlinburg, WBIR Channel 10 news reported.
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"There are a series of locations where there's been some landslides into the road blocking one or both lanes, numerous areas where trees have come down the slopes into the roadway, and we have also experienced a lot of flooding at the same time," Great Smoky Mountains National Park Deputy Superintendent Clay Jordan told reporters after the storm, the Knoxville News Sentinel reported.
The tree fell as the sky dumped more than 4 inches of rain on the region within an hour, Jordan said.
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The Spur was closed in both directions while the Tennessee Department of Transportation helped the Park Service clean up.
The road has reopened, but the Northwest Georgia Severe Weather Team warns anyone traveling through the park this weekend to expect delays.
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