Open road: Fissure swallows car in northeast Georgia city after heavy rain

ATHENS, Ga. — This is not what motorists had in mind when dreaming about open-road driving.

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Heavy rains in northeastern Georgia opened up a fissure that swallowed a car early Wednesday, authorities said.

Strong storms and winds moved through the metro Atlanta area on Tuesday night, flooding roads and toppling trees, WSB-TV reported. As the storm moved eastward, a sinkhole opened up on an Athens road, causing a vehicle to fall into the crevice, according to the television station.

Between 3 to 4.5 inches of rain drenched Clarke County, the Athens Banner-Herald reported.

“If there were any closed roads, it’s definitely not surprising at all,” National Weather Service lead forecaster Kyle Thiem told the newspaper. “This a pretty significant event and that’s over 24 hours.”

Photos released by the Athens-Clarke County Police Department showed a white sedan appearing to teeter on the road until it fell into the fissure, WSB reported.

The motorist became stuck when the vehicle straddled a section of Olympic Road that had washed out, the Banner-Herald reported. Athens-Clarke County Police Lt. Shaun Barnett told the newspaper that the motorist was able to safely exit the car.

The vehicle eventually fell into the deep fissure.

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