Flooding leaves at dozens of vehicles underwater at car dealership

SPALDING COUNTY, Ga. — Several vehicles ended up underwater after parts of a Chevrolet dealership in Spalding County flooded during heavy rain Friday morning. The scene looked more like a marina than a car dealership.

Channel 2's Berndt Petersen was at the scene, where video sent to us by Channel 2 Action News viewers showed at least a dozen brand-new trucks submerged up to their hoods.

Even after the water receded, the vehicles were still covered in muck.

A ditch that usually siphons water from the parking lot wasn't able to hold the amount of rain that the storm brought with it Friday.

Petersen talked to one salesman, who said the water was about a foot deep at 7:30 Friday morning but had reached the tops of some cars' hoods just an hour later.

None of the dealership's employees would talk on camera, but off camera, their jaws were dropping. Some have worked at the business for years and said flooding like this has never happened.

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Petersen spoke to the county's emergency management director, Glenn Polk, who couldn't believe what he saw.

"That is not our normal," Polk said. "We usually don't experience anything like that unless we have some type of tropical system. This is close to the top."

Polk said Friday's storms weren't a wind event but the rain definitely packed a punch.

Polk said flooding was a problem all over the county, and some roads could remain closed through Saturday.

"We're working with our public works and Sheriff's Office to evaluate roadways as we get calls," Polk said. "We have teams going out and checking our most prone areas."

Cox Media Group