Car flips, crashes near Abernathy Arts Center

SANDY SPRINGS, Ga. — A driver is in the hospital after she flipped and crashed her car in Sandy Spring Thursday morning, nearly hitting an arts center building.

The view from NewsChopper 2 showed where the Acura came to rest flipped over on its roof in the patio of the Abernathy Arts Center.

Sandy Springs police say the 31-year-old driver was taken to the hospital for moderate injuries.

Channel 2's Steve Gehlbach spoke to Arts Center manager Laura Martin, who came to work to find all the damage.

"We were shocked to see it this morning and just hope that she's OK, that the driver is OK," Martin said.

Sandy Spring police are still investigating what caused the woman to lose control of her car and come flying off the road around 5 a.m. Thursday.

Police said the woman overshot a sharp curve on Johnson Ferry Road and barreled across the grass before going airborne and smashing into a tree branch and a lamp post.

The car then skidded across the Arts Center patio, crumbling a concrete table and chairs and ending up on its roof.

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It's not the first time a car has come off the same curve and nearly hit the property.

Police say a driver flipped his Jeep at the end of May on a rainy morning and nearly hit the building as well. He was arrested on suspicion of a DUI.

"We're lower than street level, so you could definitely get some speed coming off that sidewalk," Martin said.

The Arts Center is now faced with cleaning up the damage before its biggest event of the year, an artist market set for next weekend.

Martin said the cleanup will be tough, but she and her staff are most concerned about the driver.

“(We’re) just going to do our best to get everything cleaned up and ready for the market. But our thoughts are with the driver and hoping that they’re OK. That’s obviously the first concern,” Martin said.

Cox Media Group