Storms knock out wall at repair shop

ATLANTA — The severe weather that moved through our area Monday afternoon brought down a concrete-block wall in the heart of Buckhead.

At Piedmont Road and Lakeshore Drive, strong winds left major damage at an auto repair shop.

Amanda Propst lives right next door to Anthem Automotive, where on Monday afternoon, severe weather blew out a concrete-block wall.

“I was watching your broadcast going, OK, it’s about to get to Buckhead, and then all of a sudden - kabam! I heard all this noise, and the window started shaking,” said Propst. “We’ve had problems with the roof before, and I looked up and said, um, it’s raining inside my house again!”

Sally Holst was on a porch around the corner, watching the sky.

“It was just a black wall and it came so fast, and then all of a sudden I saw this roof spinning,” said Holst. “The winds were amazing and all I could think about was…this is it.”

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Inside Anthem Automotive, everyone scrambled to safety.

“There was no control, it was just chaos trying to make sure everybody was safe,” said shop foreman Michael Berg.

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He was just trying to make sure his guys were safe as a strong wind blew through the open work bays.

“It was pushing us toward the wall that blew out,” said Berg.

A concrete-block wall was blown out, a roof was left in serious need of repair, and a years-old tree was uprooted. It all happened right around the corner from where the I-85 bridge collapsed last week.

“I was just like, I need to move,” said Propst.

“It was just phenomenal. I felt like Mother Nature does not play, you know. It was amazing, I mean it really was,” said Holst.

For Berg, walls and equipment can be replaced, but not people.

“I’m very thankful, thank God. I mean, that’s all I can say,” said Berg. “He was watching out for us.”

Anthem Automotive will close until its owners can stabilize the building. They say they don’t expect the closure to last long. As for current customers, they have already been contacted.

Cox Media Group