HALL COUNTY, Ga. — A man was hit by a tree on his drive to church, and now he’s thanking God he survived.
That’s the story of Gainesville man Terry Lockhart.
Channel 2′s Matt Johnson spoke to Lockhart and saw where firefighters rescued him on his Sunday commute to church.
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Lockhart said the tree that hit his car had stood in place for years.
Then, on June 25, the old tree suddenly fell on his car. Lockhart was driving on Clarks Bridge Road, and said his faith is what helped him survive.
He prays every morning before hitting the road.
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“I pray before always go out on the road,” Lockhart said.
Nothing usually gets in his way when it’s time to go to church.
“It was so sudden, I had no time to react,” he told Channel 2 Action News.
Pictures from Hall County firefighters show how it looked on Clarks Bridge Road, just north of Highway 52, while he headed to Vacation Bible School at Central Baptist Church in Gainesville.
“The wind was blowing, causing trees to swirl,” Lockhart said.
That’s when the tree collapsed on the car.
“I was afraid the car was gonna possibly catch fire because the engine was still running,” he continued.
Firefighters showed up around 5 p.m. to get him out of the car and to a hospital.
Lockhart told Channel 2 Action News the doctors weren’t sure how he got away with only minor neck injuries.
“They told me that from what they had saw it was a miracle,” Lockhart said.
He’s been back to church regularly, after spending just a day and a half in the hospital. He’s thankful he can tell his story of survival. Lockhart said he walks with a newfound appreciation for his faith and an understanding of how quickly a storm can make an impact.
“Don’t take it for granted, because it can be gone in a second,” Lockhart said.
Lockhart told Channel 2 Action News that he’s grateful for the Hall County firefighters and Department of Transportation crews that helped get the tree off of him and take him to a hospital.
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