ATLANTA — Ten years later, it’s time to remember the snow storm that paralyzed Atlanta, forcing tow truck driver Josh Whisner to spend more than a day making his way to work.
Two-and-a-half inches of snow fell on Atlanta on January 28, 2014. Whisner, a driver for Marietta Wrecker at the time, was in Gwinnett County when the first flakes appeared around noon.
“It was like a couple of flurries on the road to instant chaos,” said Whisner. “I remember getting on the interstate just in time to see a car spinning out northbound.”
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On the 10-year anniversary of that storm, Whisner can still recall every moment of his struggle to travel from Gwinnett County to Marietta, battling slick roads and the onslaught of drivers trying to make it home. He was about 13 miles from Marietta Wrecker when traffic froze.
“It was completely stopped,” said Whisner. “On the shoulder, everywhere, people spinning out.”
He pulled off the interstate and spent the night in his truck.
“Woke up to cops telling me ‘There’s nothing we can do,’” said Whisner. “Can’t get nobody nowhere. So I locked the truck and started walking.”
In the snow and ice, he walked interstates and side streets, covering 13-miles in four hours to make it to work.
“There was a lot of other people walking,” said Whisner. “I did meet some interesting people. At this point people were coming out of their cars and trying to figure out what they were going to do.”
At Marietta Wrecker, the phones were working overtime with hundreds of calls for help.
Once the roads began to clear, Whisner was back in a tow truck bound for people in need.
“By this time everything was just abandoned on the interstate,” said Whisner. “They had us going up and down the road dragging everything to the shoulder so people could find their cars.”
Whisner stayed at work another three days, taking time off only to sleep.
A rescuer once again, his view of winter will never be the same.
“If they’re saying be prepared, be prepared,” said Whisner. “Mother Nature, you never know what it’s going to throw at you.”
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