A line of severe weather swept through metro Atlanta just after daybreak Saturday, spawning high winds that downed trees, including one that trapped two girls in a Cherokee County mobile home, seriously injuring one of them.
Just before 8 a.m., firefighters responded to the Poplar Valley Mobile Home Park off Ga. 92 west of Woodstock, where a fallen tree had trapped two girls inside the bedroom of a trailer, Cherokee fire spokesman Tim Cavender said.
Firefighters quickly rescued a 2-year-old girl, and she was taken to Wellstar Kennestone Hospital for treatment of minor abrasions, Cavender said.
A 14-year-old girl was lying on a bed “when the tree fell through the roof and landed across her lower back, preventing her from escaping,” he said.
Cavender said the tree “had gone through the roof and the flooring of the mobile home.”
Firefighters used an air bag to lift the tree off the girl and pull her to safety, Cavender said.
The teen, whose name was not released, was taken to Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta at Egleston in serious condition, he said.
In Atlanta, police dispatchers reported a tree down on the Westview Drive bridge over Langhorn Street west of downtown. The storms also caused delays for flights at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.
In Dunwoody, police reported that Cotillion Drive near North Shallowford Road was closed by deep standing water Saturday morning. Emergency officials in Milton reported numerous trees downed by the storms, and Buffington Road in south Fulton County was blocked by a downed tree.
Trees also were reported down in Floyd, Coweta, Polk and Hall counties, as well as in Barrow County, where a wind gust of 64 mph was recorded. Hail an inch in diameter fell in Bartow County, according to the National Weather Service.
In Cedartown, minor roof damage was reported at Polk Medical Center, as well as minor flooding of the hospital’s basement, but all patients were safe, according to the Weather Service. Six cars and a nearby home were damaged by debris from the hospital’s roof.
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