In deadly week on Augusta roads, deputies crack down on drivers

AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) - In a week when Richmond County has seen three traffic deaths – including a boy who died on his eighth birthday – deputies are cracking down on dangerous drivers.

In addition to the traffic deaths, the crackdown comes just ahead of what’s known as the 100 deadly days of summer – a period between Memorial Day and Labor Day that’s known for a lot of traffic deaths.

Deputies announced the crackdown this week with a post on Facebook.

“We’re always asked for a warning during a traffic stop … Well, here it is,” the message begins.

It goes on to say traffic enforcement is increasing across the county, and drivers who are speeding, distracted or reckless can expect to be stopped.

It’s already been a deadly week on Augusta roadways, and deputies are hoping to keep it from getting worse.

On Monday, there was a two-vehicle head-on crash at Peach Orchard and Tobacco roads. Camden Poole, a Hephzibah Elementary second-grader who just turned 8 that day, was killed. Authorities have charged the driver of the pickup that hit the car carrying the boy.

On Wednesday, another two-car crash happened on Mike Padgett Highway. Andrew Pregel, 58, died in that accident.

And on Thursday, 56-year-old Darrell Walker died in a crash at Deans Bridge Road and Dover Street.

And it’s not just this week.

As of Friday morning, Richmond County had seen 14 traffic fatalities so far this year – compared to 18 last year.

In the past five months, there have been nearly 3,700 traffic accidents in Richmond County.

The three main issues deputies are seeing with drivers are:

• Following too closely.
• Failing to yield
• Not changing lanes properly.

Law enforcement wants to cut down on fatalities.

“Twelve of those fatalities have occurred on the south side of town. So obviously we would want to have an increased presence on that side of town, but we want to make sure that we cover the whole county,” said Capt. Michael Lewis with the sheriff’s traffic division.

He said a special team has issued 156 citations for distracted driving since February.

As the number of deadly accidents rises, so does worry among the community.

“Our goal is to make the roadway safe for everybody to get from point A to point B,” said Angella Moore, who works on Peach Orchard Road. “It’s super scary, especially just working around the cars and being kind of in the mix of things, and just being scared of the safety of myself and the people around me.”

And there are a lot of people on foot to watch out for, Moore said.

“There’s a lot of traffic lights here as well that people will end up running through or just not paying attention to at all,” she said.

“Driving is a privilege, and driving is not a game, and it’s very serious, and I feel like a lot of people don’t take that serious enough, and anything could happen at any moment,” said Moore.

The crackdown comes on the cusp of the busy summer driving period, when there’s typically a significant jump in traffic deaths, especially among teens.

The National Road Safety Foundation blames a number of factors, including:

• Increased teen driving
• Distracted driving
• Inexperienced young drivers on the roads
• Impaired driving
• Speeding
• Lack of seat belt use by many teens

The 100 deadly days of summer end with Labor Day, around the same time school starts again.

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