Couple hospitalized after light pole falls on them at Avalon shopping center

NORTH FULTON COUNTY, Ga. — Two people were taken to a hospital after a light pole fell on them.

It happened at Avalon shopping center Friday morning.

Alpharetta police said a delivery truck hit a light pole and it fell on husband and wife Larry and Meri Etheridge.

“I heard some kind of loud crashing sound, and I think I screamed, and then everything went black,” Meri Etheridge said. “All I remember seeing was two of the wheels coming up onto the sidewalk.”

The couple told Channel 2’s Justin Wilfon that they were standing on the sidewalk when the massive pole fell onto them.

“The last thing I remember is just a crazy pain in my head and falling backwards,” Larry Etheridge said.

“I thought I was paralyzed. I couldn’t move. And I didn’t know if he was alive or what,” Meri Etheridge said.

Earlier in the day, Channel 2’s Mike Petchenik obtained cellphone video a witness took of paramedics tending to the couple.

“Thank God they’re OK,” said Leigh Anne Best, Meri Etheridge’s sister.

TRENDING STORIES:

• ‘I’m going to kill your daddy’: Gunmen hold father, kids at gunpoint while they rob restaurant
• Here are the worst times to drive in Atlanta for Christmas 2019
• Here’s why you saw a mysterious streak over metro Atlanta Friday morning

She said she was on the phone with her sister minutes before it happened.

Then, she got a call back from the number, but it was a witness who said the couple had been in a terrible accident.

"They just saw a truck, they saw it hit the curb, and the next thing they know, the pole came. He was flat on his back,” Best said. “The next thing I know, it’s her again, and I pick up my phone. … It’s not Meri. … It’s a stranger. … She’s like, 'Leigh, this is Peggy, your sister and brother-in-law were just in an accident,'” Best said.

Best said she rushed to the hospital.

“I got 10 staples and 10 stitches, so 20 total in my head here,” Larry Etheridge said.

Meri Etheridge said she suffered ligament damage from the incident.

Best said she's amazed it wasn't worse and is extremely thankful it wasn't.

"When we saw how big of a pole that it was that hit his head … it's amazing it didn't do worse," Best said.

“I’m thankful that God protected me and my wife. I mean, if one of us had been hit in a different way with that pole, we could have been gone,” Larry Etheridge said.

The couple said they believe the driver of the truck took too sharp of a turn, hitting the pole.

Police said they didn't cite the driver of the truck.

We reached out to Avalon for comment on this story but so far have not heard back from the complex.

Couple recovering after light pole fell on them at Avalon shopping center The man had to have 10 stitches, his sister-in-law said.

© 2019 Cox Media Group