Couple with ATV rides to the rescue in South Huntsville

HUNTSVILLE — Hundreds of people across North Alabama were left stranded Monday night after unexpected black ice coated much of the Tennessee Valley.

One of the worst hit areas was Cecil Ashburn Drive over Huntsville Mountain. With the roads impassable and first responders unable to reach stranded motorists, one Huntsville couple stepped up to help.

Brittany Brannum said she and her husband received a phone call around 4 p.m. that her mother-in-law and sister-in-law were stuck in traffic on the road near the walking trail.

“They said that there were hundreds of cars stuck and just sliding into one another,” she said. “So we bundled up and got the four wheeler out to go get them.”

Brannum, who works as a manager at a local veterinary clinic, said it was about five miles to reach them on Old Big Cove Road.

“It was a solid sheet of ice,” she said.

Once they reached their family, Brannum said, “there were so many people stuck in their cars and just as many walking down the mountain.

“We saw small children all the way to elderly people trying to make that walk and clinging to the guard rails because they were falling.”

Brannum said hardly anyone was dressed for that type of weather because it was so unexpected. After assisting her mother-in-law and sister-in-law off the mountain, they turned around and went back up the mountain to help others.

“In total, we were able to get 13 people off the mountain to meet their rides so they could go home,” she said.

Brannum downplays their efforts but admits the people they helped were very grateful.

“I know we weren’t the only people helping on ATVs last night,” she said. “And it just goes to show that there are still good people in the world.”