Georgia veteran rescues woman stranded on roof of car during major Atlanta floods on Downtown Connector
The dramatic rescue on the Downtown Connector close to Baker Street was captured on video as floodwaters quickly rose alongside Interstate 75/85.
ATLANTA — A army veteran is being praised after rescuing a woman stranded on top of her car as flash flooding turned components of downtown Atlanta into fast-moving rivers.
The dramatic rescue on the Downtown Connector close to Baker Street was captured on video as floodwaters quickly rose alongside Interstate 75/85.
George Brathwaite mentioned he and his spouse, Chyna, weren’t even imagined to be on the connector once they noticed the woman sitting on high of her automobile surrounded by water.
“We see her just sitting in the middle of the street like that,” George Brathwaite mentioned. “I had no choice but to pull over.”
As the woman waited for assist, video confirmed Brathwaite fastidiously strolling by way of the speeding water earlier than carrying her to security on his again.
“My heart and God… we both saw the girl on top of the car,” Chyna Brathwaite mentioned. “I told him that if he wouldn’t go get her, I was going to go get her.”
Even within the center of the rescue, George Brathwaite mentioned he tried to calm the woman down by speaking to her as they crossed the flooded roadway.
“’You cool with getting on my back?’” I remembered asking her. “I mentioned, ‘Hey, my title is George. So what’s your title?’ Just making an attempt to start out a dialog strolling throughout, however she was caught. “She was scared.”
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Brathwaite joked that he initially hesitated as a result of he was sporting a brand new pair of sneakers.
“I just had some brand new Forces on,” he mentioned. “So I really didn’t want to get them messed up. But once I got to her, you could feel it shaking. She was scared.”
The woman was taken to security and waited contained in the couple’s truck till Georgia State Patrol arrived.
“It was a relief once she got over by us, and she kept thanking us,” Chyna Brathwaite mentioned.
The couple, who mentioned they’ve lived in Atlanta for eight years, mentioned they’ve by no means seen this extreme flooding within the metropolis.
“Something clogged up. They need some Drano, that’s what they need,” George Brathwaite mentioned.
Brathwaite served within the army from 2009 to 2013 and accomplished a tour in Iraq. He mentioned serving to somebody at risk was a simple choice.
“Help somebody,” he mentioned. “More people riding by just looking at them. Help somebody, man. I ain’t do this for clout. … You help somebody.”
