DEKALB COUNTY, Ga. — DeKalb County CEO Lorraine Cochran-Johnson issued a state of emergency. Drivers were stranded for hours Tuesday night because of icy road conditions and many roads remained icy Wednesday night.
“It took me three and a half almost four hours to get home from somewhere that usually takes me 20 minutes,” Morgan Nixon, who ended up abandoning her car, told Channel 2′s Eryn Rogers.
[DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks]
Nixon left her car at Oak View Elementary School on Oakvale Road overnight and walked home. She said several other people decided to do the same.
“Cars just lining the streets, cars slipping and sliding down hills,” Nixon said.
Nixon said she felt like people becoming stranded could have been avoided.
“I was very surprised, a bit disappointed, at the lack of infrastructure and safety precautions that went on prior to the ice storm,” Nixon said.
The county said crews did treat the roads, but the extreme cold made it almost ineffective. However, they said crews will be out throughout the night and morning continuing to treat the roads.
TRENDING STORIES:
- Drivers stopped for 15 hours, slept in cars as winter storm paralyzed I-75
- CLOSURES: What schools are canceling, going virtual, delaying start on Thursday?
- ‘I was quite tickled’: Bottoms says she already resigned from White House despite post from Trump
They said crews have already applied over 500 tons of salt, sand, and calcium chloride to the roads.
“DeKalb County is very proud of its great canopy, but those are also areas that will not get sun, and that means the ice that we see on our roadways will remain,” Cochran-Johnson said.
She said the southern and eastern parts of the county got hit the hardest.
“Our adverse conditions aren’t over, and we need you to shelter in place to help us because there are some people who need critical care and we need to reach everyone,” Cochran-Johnson said.
More than 100 cars have been left stranded across the county, including a fire truck that got stuck on Rockbridge Road.
“Over the past 24 hours, we have already rescued over 200 individuals who were stranded on our roadways,” Cochran-Johnson said.
Cochran-Johnson said first responders delivered a baby from a stranded driver, but then, crews had to dig out the emergency vehicle to transport them.
They said the mom and baby made it to the hospital, but there were some complications so they are continuing to check on their condition.
Cochran-Johnson said the State of Emergency will remain in place until further notice. The statewide State of Emergency issued by Gov. Brian Kemp is in effect through at least Tuesday.
[SIGN UP: WSB-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter]
©2025 Cox Media Group
