An Amazon deliveryman had to be rescued from his van after getting stuck in a flood in south Habersham County. (Daniel Purcell/Now Habersham)
It was a close call for two drivers in Habersham County on Thursday after they got trapped in their vehicles by rising floodwaters.
One of the trapped drivers was an Amazon deliveryman. His van was overtaken by floodwaters as he attempted to cross a bridge over Little Mud Creek on Garrison Drive in Cornelia.
The driver climbed onto the roof of the van to avoid the rising water.
Habersham County Sheriff’s deputies and Habersham County Emergency Services (HCES) personnel responded to the scene. They threw the stranded driver a life jacket and used a life safety rope to rescue him.
The driver dislocated his shoulder during the rescue and was transported to Habersham Medical Center in Demorest for treatment.
Officials say the van was loaded with packages. They were ruined in the flood.
Around the same time as the Garrison Drive rescue, first responders were dispatched to the north end of the county for a similar rescue on Beaver Lake Drive south of Turnerville. When they arrived they found a driver trapped, standing on the roof of his pickup truck.
While both drivers were successfully rescued, HCES Director Chad Black warns things could have turned out differently. He urges drivers to avoid roads with standing or rushing water.
“It’s extremely dangerous to not only citizens but our personnel in having to rescue them,” Black says. “This also takes our personnel away from other calls that are occurring in the county and creates delays in other responses.”
Video by Daniel Purcell/Now Habersham
