The combination of heavy overnight rain and strong, gusty winds brought trees down across metro Atlanta early Tuesday, including one that toppled onto a pickup truck on I-20 in Rockdale County, killing a motorist.
According to Rockdale sheriff’s Investigator Michael Camp, a 1998 Toyota Tacoma was westbound on I-20 just past Sigman Road about 6:20 a.m. “when a large tree fell from the side of the interstate, landing on the cab of the truck and entrapping the driver.”
Camp said Roy Arndt, 60, of Oxford, who was driving the truck, died at the scene.
“After the initial accident, several other vehicles were involved in a chain-reaction accident attempting to avoid hitting the truck and the tree, which was blocking the interstate,” Camp told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution in an e-mail.
“The accident is still under investigation, but the tree being downed by the rain and wind is believed to be the main cause,” Camp said.
All westbound lanes of the interstate were shut down for more than two hours, but reopened just before 9 a.m.
Closer to town, another wreck, this one involving a DeKalb County police officer, closed all westbound lanes of I-20 near Columbia Drive for about 30 minutes around 6 a.m.
Doug Turnbull in the AM750 and 95.5FM News/Talk WSB Traffic Center reported trees down and blocking numerous other metro Atlanta roadways early Tuesday.
Trouble spots included Ga. 140 near Ga. 5 in Canton, Miles Road at Union Road in Fulton County, Chestnut Hill Road at Laurel Springs Lane in Cobb County and Ga. 140 at Landers Road in Bartow County.
In Atlanta, downed trees blocked Peachtree Battle Avenue near Moores Mill Road and Powers Ferry Road near Chastain Park.
All of the metro area, as well as most of north Georgia, was under a wind advisory until 7 p.m. Tuesday for gusts up to 40 mph.
Central Georgia was also under a flood watch through Tuesday evening.
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Overnight rainfall totals across metro Atlanta through 8 a.m. Tuesday ranged from 1.2o inches in Chamblee and 1.33 inches in Marietta to 1.51 inches at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport and 1.67 inches in Peachtree City.
Wednesday will be sunny, with a morning low in the mid-30s and afternoon high in the mid-50s, while Thursday will be sunny, with highs only in the lower 50s, according to Channel 2 Action News chief meteorologist Glenn Burns.
Friday will be partly cloudy, with highs in the upper 40s and lows in the low 30s, and there’s a 20 percent chance of rain on Saturday, according to Burns.
—Staff writer Bryan Cronan contributed to this report.
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