Storms Decimate Bartow County Community

CARTERSVILLE. Ga. - A neighborhood in Bartow County was decimated by storms that passed through late Wednesday night.  The neighborhood, located east of Interstate 75 off Gaines Road near Cartersville, had numerous homes damaged, and some that were leveled. Several businesses were also hit.

Early Thursday moing, a number of household items littered the area, including TVs, toilets, and refrigerators. Still, residents told FOX 5 they were lucky to be alive.

"All of a sudden it started hailing and then it got quiet, and then it just hit, said Lillie Hoskins, who lives in the neighborhood. ”I never heard a sound like a freight train. All I heard was the trees falling, glass breaking. I was praying really hard we didn't get killed."

Jennifer Lowe and some family members were in her home when it was destroyed. Their pickup truck ended up in the family pool. She said a neighbor who is a paramedic was able to get them out of the debris.

Residents were left stunned and devastated. One woman told FOX 5 it will be months before the community is back to normal, by the time they clean up all of the downed trees and repair damaged buildings.

Officials said of the two storms that hit the community, it was the storm that hit at 9:40 p.m. Wednesday night that did the most damage.