When Weather Causes Atlanta Car Crashes: Are You Prepared?

Four fatal Georgia traffic accidents have been blamed on the storms that blew through the Atlanta area on Thursday, June 23.  The weather-related crashes caused deaths in Fulton, Cobb, Gwinnett and Newton Counties.
 
At 1:40 a.m., Nathan Hitchcock was killed on Burnt Hickory Road between Old Mountain Road and Devonwood Trail in Marietta.  He was travelling at high speed when he improperly passed another vehicle and lost control on the wet, slippery road.
 
At 2:00 a.m., 29-year-old Daniel Walker of Buford lost control of his 2000 Honda Accord on the Buford Drive ramp to I-85 in Gwinnett County.  He went off the road and into a tree. Walker was not wearing a seat belt; he died at the scene.
 
Right before dawn, a second Honda went off the road in Newton County. Forty-six-year-old Ray Whatley of Clemons, N.C. lost control of his Civic on Georgia 212.  He was not wearing a seat belt and was thrown from the car.
 
Finally, Margarita Belik, 44, of Alpharetta was killed about 8:45 a.m. when she took the Haynes Bridge Road ramp onto southbound Georgia 400.  She was driving too fast for weather conditions and her silver 1999 Mercedes Benz crashed.  She was pronounced dead at the scene.
 
All these drivers lost their lives because they were driving too fast for weather conditions. During the summer, severe storms can occur without warning leaving roads slick and dangerous.  For tips on wet-weather driving, read Atlanta auto injury lawyer Shane Smith's article, "It's Raining, It's Pouring: Wet Weather Tips For Georgia".