A highway washout in Rhea County that led to the death of a motorist Thursday will take about two weeks to repair – and will send Dayton-to-Decatur commuters on an hourlong detour.
Dakota E. Howard, 22, died when his vehicle plunged into a ravine where heavy rains from overnight storms washed out part of State Route 30, the Tennessee Highway Patrol said. Rushing water carried his 2011 Nissan downstream and Howard drowned while trying to escape. His passenger, 22-year-old Dustin Smith, was injured but survived.
Howard’s was among 11 deaths officially attributed to overnight storms across the South, which spawned rare Christmastime tornadoes in Mississippi, Tennessee and Arkansas. Tennessee remained in a Level III state of emergency into the Christmas holiday, and Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal declared a state of emergency for Fannin, Gilmer and Pickens counties because of flooding.
Another death on Interstate 75 in Chattanooga also was blamed on wet roads. A Nebraska couple was traveling north when their Ford Explorer spun out and hit the guardrail. Maria Sandoval, 43, died at the hospital. Her husband, Jesus Sandoval, 42, and teenage son were treated and released, Chattanooga police said.
On Thursday afternoon, Jennifer Flynn with the Tennessee Department of Transportation said repairs to the water-carved ravine on Highway 30 likely will start Saturday.