AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) – One person has died after a single vehicle crash on the entrance ramp from Gordon Highway onto I-520.

On Sunday, the Richmond County Coroner’s Office says the vehicle ran off the eastbound ramp into the wooded area and then rolled over.

The driver was pronounced dead on the scene at 6:30 p.m., according to the coroner’s office.

The name of the victim will be released when the next of kin is notified.

Other details of the crash are limited at this time.

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AUGUSTA, Ga. – Georgia’s gang membership numbers have skyrocketed in the past six years, according to a survey released by a nonprofit on Friday.

The survey didn’t show an increase in gang violence but did show agencies reporting that gangs are responsible for about 65% of all crime in Georgia.

That’s in line with what the Richmond County Sheriff’s Office has told News 12.

The Richmond County Sheriff’s Office Special Operations Division tells us gang violence is the root of almost all violent crime here – as well as less violent crimes like bank fraud and car break-ins.

In 2024, Georgia is home to more than 127,000 gang members and associates, the Georgia Gang Investigators Association said.

That marks about an 80% increase from its 2018 survey, which found about 71,000 members.

The number of violent gangs has also risen from 1,600 to more than 1,900, the survey found.

The increase is “significant and alarming,” the association said — and the numbers are likely much higher. The survey took reported data from sheriff’s offices and law enforcement agencies in 86 of Georgia’s 159 counties, leaving 73 unrecorded.

“The surge in gang membership and violence is a clear sign that we need to take more aggressive and collaborative measures to address the growing influence of gangs in Georgia,” GGIA President Jose Ramirez said in a statement. “The findings in this survey highlight the urgency of implementing comprehensive strategies to protect our communities and provide young people with alternatives to gang life.”

Ramirez said gang recruitment among young people is particularly concerning.

“They’re selling a gang lifestyle that ultimately provides a psychological trap under the disguise of love, acceptance and power,” he said.

Gang violence happens all across Georgia, whether it’s in a rural or populated area, the survey found.

In Richmond County

The CSRA has been caught up in a cycle of violent crime that’s claimed more than 180 lives in the past two years.

Underneath that crime is the drug and gun situation happening in Richmond County, Richmond County deputies told News 12 a few weeks ago.

Hundreds of pounds of drugs, hundreds of guns and millions in cash were found in neighborhoods across Richmond County.

Investigators are tracking just how much cash, drugs and guns are seized during search warrants.

Data kept by the Richmond County Sheriff’s Office tells the story of what law enforcement is up against.

From 2018 to May 2024, the Richmond County Sheriff’s Office seized $4,348,817 from search warrants alone. That also includes at least 1,152 guns and 226 vehicles.

Over the course of the past six years, there have been more than 2,500 arrests and nearly 2,000 felony cases.

As for the drugs seized, since 2021 when deputies began tracking fentanyl seizures, 39 pounds have been recovered.

Since 2021, that number has increased dramatically.

The total doubled from 2022 to 2023, and this year, it’s on track to increase again.

Since 2018, investigators took more than 1,200 pounds of marijuana, 166 pounds of meth, 166 pounds of cocaine, and nearly 6,000 oxycodone pills.

Across Georgia

In 2022, Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr launched the State’s Gang Prosecution Unit, convicting 48 gang members to date.

“When it comes to protecting our children, we must double and triple down on anti-recruitment efforts across the board, and we must continue to ensure that our law enforcement officers have the training and resources they need to bring strong cases that ultimately lead to safer communities,” Carr said.

The survey only pulled from data made available to the nonprofit, Ramirez said. He believes a good next step would be for the state to track gang violence data, allowing for a more complete picture.

Copyright 2024 WRDW/WAGT. All rights reserved.

By now everyone is aware of the damage Hurricane Helene brought to the mountain communities in and around Asheville, North Carolina and the surrounding Pisgah National Forest. Augusta, GA was hit hard by the storm too, and while flooding wasn’t as widespread or catastrophic there as it was in western North Carolina, thousands of trees rooted in rain-soaked soil were toppled by the strong winds that whipped through the area.

“We had over 100 miles of trail here, but unfortunately hurricane Helene took us down to none,” Angela Allen told me. Allen is the Communications Chair and work party coordinator for the Central Savannah River Area (CSRA) Southern Off Road Biking Association (SORBA) chapter. The volunteer group is responsible for maintaining more than 100 miles of singletrack, and had just finished their annual three-month-long foliage maintenance work cleaning every inch of those trails the weekend before the storm hit. Their celebration of a job well done was short lived.

Just this week, Augusta Mayor Garnett L. Johnson held a press conference with representatives from FEMA to give an update on recovery efforts following the record-breaking storm. Nearly a month after Helene, which initially left the entire city without power, communications remain limited. “More than 95% of our residents still may remain without internet, and cell service to this date still remains to be spotty in some areas. Thousands of homes and properties sustained significant damage, and tragically, some of our fellow Augustans lost their lives,” he said. In the press conference, City Administrator Tameka Allen noted that the city had only recently been able to restore all traffic signals to full functionality.

Jake Veriato, SORBA CSRA President, said that local mountain bikers got to work immediately, clearing trees off their own homes, driveways, and roadways, and helping neighbors do the same. After some time, there was a desire to get at least a small sliver of singletrack open for mountain biking again.

“A lot of them just wanted a break from helping the community and wanted to help the community in another way, which is to get back out into the forest.” For many area riders, a quick mountain bike ride was exactly what they needed to recharge.

SORBA CSRA rallied 186 volunteers, including 26 certified Sawyer teams, to focus on getting the Canal singletrack trail re-opened. The flowy singletrack trail, located between the Augusta canal and Savannah river, is the only mountain bike trail within the city limits, which made it a good trail for volunteers to focus on. Allen and Canal trail champion John Pilcher “went out there two separate days to literally climb under and over logs [tying flags] so you can see where the trail went,” Allen said. All told, 501 trees were cleared and 746 volunteer hours were logged.

“We thought that would be the best for the trail community to get at least one trail system open and we achieved that,” Veriato said.

Looking beyond the Canal trail, most Augusta-area singletrack lies on land that’s under state and federal land management. “We still don’t have access to the Forest Service trails in the Long Cane Ranger District, which is okay, they are working through it,” said Veriato.

SORBA CSRA is still in triage mode, assessing which trails are even accessible at this point, and whether infrastructure like bridges and signage will need to be repaired. No doubt there are many more trees that need to be cleared.

“It’s easy to see the long road we have ahead of us. I mean, you’re talking thousands upon thousands of trees, thousands of man hours, thousands of days out there,” Veriato said. “So yeah, it’s going to be tough.”

To volunteer, or donate funds to SORBA CSRA to help offset the cost of fuel and equipment, visit sorbacsra.org.