A motorist who lost control of her vehicle Feb. 3 and ended up in Fowler Branch creek thanked on Tuesday the firefighters who saved her.
Yolanda Parker said her brakes gave out and she swerved to miss another car near the intersection of Snapfinger Circle and Snapfinger Road in DeKalb County.
“Everything happened so fast,” Parker said. “Before I knew it, I was in the water.”
The Fowler Branch creek was swollen after a downpour drenched Atlanta with more than 2 inches of rain, authorities said.
Parker, who couldn’t swim, said a current swept her away so she grabbed hold of a branch in the water that kept her from drowning.
“I held on, I held on,” she said.
Firefighters rescued her about 200 to 400 yards from where her car flipped over, DeKalb fire Capt. Eric Jackson said.
“Hallelujah” was her first thought when she heard the sirens and saw the firefighters, Paker said.
Parker visited Fire Station 24 on Redan Road in Stone Mountain, to say thank you to those who saved her life.
“I didn’t know how to thank them,” Parker said. “I just want to hug them again.”
Jamie Leavell, a driver with DeKalb County emergency medical services, said it’s good to hear people say thank you.
“I wish we could do this more and have more of a connection with the community,” Leavell said. “They can say ‘thank you’ and we can say you’re welcome.”
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