By Adam Ghassemi
FRANKLIN, Tenn. – When Thursday's heavy rains started to fall, Ehida Akharume, was busy shopping.
"It was nice and sunny outside so I had no idea that anything was going to happen out of the ordinary," said Akharume.
But when she came outside the Cool Springs Galleria she saw the last thing anyone would want to find. Her Nissan Maxima was half submerged in flood water. "It's very hard, I like my car. It's not easy to see it just go away in one hour," she said.
Friday she picked over her flooded floorboards to try and salvage anything possible.
In the trunk she found sopping papers and study cards. It isn't a pretty picture for someone who just finished their residency to become to dentist. "Thank God I finished because I don't need these things anymore," Akharume said.
Akharume is preparing to move to Memphis in two weeks for a new job. This isn't making things any easier. "I had just gotten an apartment so this was all the paperwork that I needed to turn in for my apartment, but I guess I can get more paperwork," she said hovering over her ruined leather front seat.
Water got up over the dashboard. Akharume expects the insurance company is likely to total it.
"I know you can't foresee things like this happening, but I wish there could have been something done to prevent this because I think it was really preventable," she said.
Friday a number of mechanics told NewsChannel 5 that most insurance companies act the same way when it comes to flooded cars. If the carpet gets wet, they will probably total the vehicle. That's because wiring and electronics that run underneath many makes and models may cause big problems down the road.
Some tow truck companies say many people handled Thursday's chaos pretty well.
David Silva, who drives a tow truck for Akins Towing, was responding to many calls near Cool Springs when the flooding hit. He says many people seemed to have learned from the May 2010 floods.
"People were still distraught over their cars, but it was more of a - like here's round 2, here we go again. It wasn't that sheer panic like it was last time," Silva said.
Some cars faired far worse than Akharume's. One Infinity owner said water got over her car's rooftop causing the water to float it across a parking lot.
Akharume may have to listen to her friends who are telling her to stay positive despite this headache, looking at it as a way to get a new car for her fresh start.
"I didn't want to get it this way," Akharume said.
Email: aghassemi@newschannel5.com
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