LITHONIA, Ga. -- It's a tale of two construction sites: one side saying it was dangerous, neglectful, and careless. The other side saying it was safely following the rules. At the center: a shiny red BMW stuck in a block of concrete.
Elysia Morris was driving her 2010 BMW on Rockland Road in DeKalb County. She was dropping her son off at his grandpa's house while she headed to an appointment. On the way there, she saw the residential street was heavy with construction equipment, but says there were no signs, no flaggers, no cones.
After dropping her son off inside, she was traveling back the way she had just come when a truck started driving towards her.
"There was a silver pickup truck aggressively honking his horn at me and I slowed down, thinking maybe he wanted me to stop," she said. "But he kept driving towards me honking the horn, so I veered to the left and my car ends up submerged in fresh, wet concrete."
Witnesses were able to get Morris safely out, but her car was stuck. "And they're telling me this concrete is going to cure in about an hour."
Morris said she called police, who called DeKalb County, who called a tow truck. But they said they couldn't tow the car unless she signed a waiver saying they wouldn't be responsible for damages. Her attorney told her not to sign anything.
And so, the car sat there in wet concrete. Until it wasn't wet anymore.
"They said unless I sign that waiver, my car is going to decorate this street." And for a while, it did.
Because she wouldn't sign it, eventually workers used a jack hammer to remove the entire block of concrete, including the car, and load it onto a flat bed.
"Dekalb County was negligent. They didn't do their part," Morris said. "I don't feel like I should be held responsible for that."
A DeKalb County spokesperson tells a different story about their contractors:
Inside the construction site, DWM contractors are utilizing an installed and permitted traffic signal system, traffic barricades and flaggers to ensure motorists navigate safely thru the active construction site.
Morris said the cones and flaggers came AFTER she was stuck. When 11Alive crews captured video of the trapped car, there were more cones than we could count. It's unclear WHEN those went into place.
Morris insists it was after her beloved graduation gift was encrusted in concrete.
The contractors couldn't be reached for comment.
