Man discusses brother killed in freak accident

ROCKDALE COUNTY, Ga. — In just a matter of seconds, a local family lost their loved one in a freak accident on Interstate 20 in Rockdale County.

"When it's your time to go, it doesn't matter where you are or what you're doing," Anthony Arndt told Channel 2's Craig Lucie.

Arndt said the way his brother, Roy Arndt, lost his life is beyond strange.

"The odds are probably better winning the lottery than what happened to him," Arndt explained.

Rockdale County investigators said Roy Arndt was heading west toward Atlanta on I-20 Tuesday morning when a tree came crashing down. They said there's no way the 60-year-old could avoid the tree when it slammed into the cab of his Toyota Tacoma, killing him almost instantly.

"If you look at it one second earlier or one second later, that tree wouldn't have hit exactly where it hit," Arndt told Lucie.

The falling tree created a chain reaction of crashes involving six cars.

"I saw it on the news, and I still looked on my phone and called his house and cell number because I didn't want to believe it," Arndt said.

When you call his house, Roy Arndt mentions one of his favorite hobbies.

The answering machine message says, "Hello, you have reached the Arndt residence. Potatoes are in the ground and spring is around the corner. Think about planting your garden. Leave your name and number and I'll call you back."

Anthony Arndt said his brother was a great gardener, but an even better human being.

"He believed in fairness, truthfulness and love. He was a real good person. He's going to be very much missed," Arndt said.

Roy Arndt leaves behind a son and daughter. His son told Lucie over the phone Wednesday afternoon that he wanted to do an on-camera interview, but he was too busy planning his father's funeral.

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WSBTV