GWINNETT COUNTY, Ga. — Lives lost, families grieving and dozens of business owners and their livelihoods impacted, too.
But some jumped into action to help in any way they could.
Business owners along Furniture Row had a terrifying up-close view of the fatal explosions and fire on I-85 on Saturday. But they didn't think of themselves, first. Some opened their doors early to help everyone they could…
“People were scared,” Calah Gowdy said.
Gowdy, at Mattress Firm, didn’t think twice when she saw people outside trying to escape. She knew just what she had to do.
“People were terrified, they just wanted to get out of their vehicles and get inside as soon as possible,” she said.
“So, essentially, I just opened the store up; at first I was, like, 'Hey, do you need to use the bathroom, you can come in'," she said. "They’re freezing cold. So, I just let them stay inside the store until they were able to go out.”
They were the most people she would see inside the store all day.
Massive fire on I-85 after crash
Dozens of store owners on Dawson Boulevard ended up behind the police barricades - their customers on the other side. So, they closed for part of the day or all day.
“Giant ball of fire with smoke coming over the store,” Samuel Lee said.
Lee, who works at Fine Fabrics, wasn’t thinking of lost business. He was trying to forget what he’d just seen. Video that he posted on social media had him thinking of those who were lost.
But, he said he’s also left with the gut-punch reality hitting the business, too. hurting the business - busy Saturday business.
“Especially ‘cause it’s prom season,” Lee said. “It blocks off a good amount of people, like, the normal, regular customers that come in, they’re not here.”
However, there were customers who found back roads around the barricades who arrived and were shocked by what they found.
“It’s terrible, I mean somebody passed away,” Alis Castro said.
Like Castro, Furniture Row customers who ended up caught in interstate traffic overflowing onto local streets - doubling and tripling their drive time - were not thinking of themselves.
“Doesn’t matter if it’s inconvenienced me. Now, there’s a family out there that’s gonna be mourning, right now,” Belinda Arcelay said.
“Well, it’s sad,” Lystra Baptiste said. “We just have to pray God that He takes us safe on our journey.”
The economic impact on the dozens of small businesses here along Furniture Row is major, but many owners said that, when they looked out their windows, they were really counting their blessings.
MORE STORIES