ATLANTA — People caught up in flash flooding last month are starting to receive news about their totaled cars.
Aysha Imran was one of those people. She got stuck in flood waters next to a Waymo last month, and she has finally heard back from her insurance company.
“My car is totaled,” Imran said.
A stranger had to rescue Imran as flood waters filled her car in Atlanta’s historic Fourth Ward along North Avenue.
“All you can think of is panic,” she said about the experience.
Emory law professor John Acevedo researched to find out if they could sue the city or state for damages.
“Here, the argument is going to be the city should have kept those storm drains clear,” Acevedo told Channel 2’s Courtney Francisco.
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We saw in real time last month how water receded along the downtown connector as soon as workers unclogged drains.
A driver ended up sitting on top of her car until a good Samaritan rescued her.
Once the water receded, her car was pushed to the side of the road by a GSP trooper.
Watershed Management said on Friday that industry experts are investigating Atlanta’s operations to determine what engineering measures may have failed.
“We will have to see what is best practice. Did the city deviate from best practice? Is it a wide range of practice?” Acevedo said. “Plaintiffs are going to have to prove the city was negligent, or one of its workers was negligent.”
He said if that is the case, the city, state, or county will have to reimburse drivers for car repairs.
But Imran said even if that happens, she’d still be at a loss as she struggles to pay for a new car.
“I have a rental car right now, but I only have it until Monday. That’s only how much my insurance covers it,” Imran said.
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