Fallen tree blocks Santa Claus, but Harris County sheriff and son come to the rescue

Santa Claus still was making his rounds in the wee hours of Christmas Day when he encountered a transportation problem in Harris County -- and the sheriff and his son came to the rescue.

At approximately 2:45 a.m. Monday, Harris County 911 received a call from a man who was driving a vehicle that had hit a fallen tree in the road south of Waverly Hall on Georgia Highway 85, Sheriff Mike Jolley told the Ledger-Enquirer.

The call went to the aptly named sheriff this day because Jolley had sent all of his units home for Christmas and was covering the county with his son Cody, a reserve deputy who works as an investigator for the district attorney's office.

Lo and behold, when Jolley and his son arrived on the scene, they saw a man in a Santa outfit trying to lift a dead pine tree off the road.

Santa and his sleigh -- uh, pickup truck -- were OK, Jolley said, but, without any reindeer in sight, the man in the red suit with white trim and beard needed help moving that tree.

"Apparently, Santa was flying a little low coming into Waverly Hall," Jolley quipped.

After they cleared the obstruction, Jolley was glad to see Santa was back on his way.

Jolley concluded, "Hope everyone got their gifts."

This story was originally published December 25, 2017 at 3:38 PM with the headline "Fallen tree blocks Santa Claus, but Harris County sheriff and son come to the rescue."