AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) – After an early morning fatal crash in Augusta, just hours later another crash injured at least one person on Tuesday, according to authorities.

In Augusta

The Coroner’s Office is investigating a traffic death on I-20 and Riverwatch Parkway early Wednesday morning.

Coroner Mark Bowen says the vehicle was traveling west on I-20 when the driver apparently lost control at a high rate of speed.

The vehicle struck the center guardrail and overturn several times, Bowen says.

Driver was pronounced dead on scene 3:10 a.m., according to Bowen.

The victim’s identity will be released once next of kin notified, Bowen says.

In Aiken

A two-vehicle car crash near Edgefield Highway in Aiken has injured at least one person early Wednesday, according to authorities.

Aiken County dispatch says South Carolina Highway Patrol was on the way to the scene at 6:50 a.m. to the crash on Reynolds Pond Road across from Edgefield Highway.

Dispatch says at least one person has been injured, and Reynolds Pond Road was completely blocked.

We were on the way to the scene to learn more.

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AUGUSTA, Ga. (WJBF)– The Augusta Players is the longest existing arts organization in the CSRA, providing professional theatrical experiences for adults and youth for 80 years. And for 80 years they’ve been without a home of their own– but that’s about to change!

Scott Seidl is the Executive and Artistic Director of the Augusta Players.

“This has been a five year journey for us. I mean, we’ve been looking for a place like this since before the pandemic happened. And so when this one was brought to our attention, it was a no brainer. We were just so excited because it’s right there in the heart of the theater district. Literally across the street is the Miller Theater. A block away is the Imperial Theatre on the same block as Le Chat Noir. On the same block is Jessye Norman School of the Arts. And so there’s just a synergy and a energy of community that is a part of just the location itself.”

While the Augusta Players offices have been at Sacred Heart Cultural Center for years, everything else has required Seidl and his team to be quite the nomadic bunch! From rehearsals at the Kroc Center and Jessye Norman School of the Arts, to building props and costumes in other locations, to a warehouse in another location– they are scattered all over the place. Even performances happen in different venues around town.

“And it just limits us because even though all of those places and organizations are very kind to support what we do, we’re also at the mercy of their schedule. And so we have a very finite and specific amount of time that we can be in any one of these locations. And so it kind of limits the offerings that we can present to our community and in the ways that we can help our community as well.”

The Augusta Players is also a social services organization, offering programs like Augusta Readers Theater, for senior citizens…. and Camp Wonderland, for young people with Autism Spectrum Disorder. There’s also a new program on the horizon called Enchanted Stages, which is interactive theater for families that have people with disabilities.

“And our ARTreach program bringing over 12,000 kids into the theater on an annual basis. And that material that we present to them supports the curriculum to all the area counties. Like those are things that we do — I think the shows also serve the community in its own way, but these things are specifically designed and detailed to support the needs of our community.”

The community can support the capital campaign in several ways.

“Financially, of course, and when it’s time to move in about 11 months, we can use a lot of hands as well! We have a website, theapcampaign.com, and you can see photos of the renovation and the designs of the renovation and explain some of our programming. And then it offers you a long list of ways you can contribute. There are still opportunities for naming opportunities. If you happen to have the resources to contribute at a high level. But you can buy a brick too. I’ve done a couple of those in the name of my grandmother and my parents, who are both deceased but were so supportive of me. And lots of folks are choosing that path. But also, you know, $5 helps.”

Grand opening for the new home of the Augusta Players is projected to be in May or June of 2025.

You can support the Augusta Players capital campaign by donating here.

AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) – The Richmond County Sheriff’s Office is seeking the public’s help in finding a 21-year-old who is wanted for aggravated battery.

Malcolm Xavier Williams is wanted for aggravated battery in connection to an incident that occurred in the parking lot of Southgate Plaza on March 16.

According to the incident report, Richmond County deputies responded to Broad on the Green apartments for a past assault.

Upon arrival, deputies met with a 22-year-old female victim who stated she woke up with bruises around her face, the report says.

The incident report states the victim spoke to one of her friends who said they were at a party the night before and the victim was punched in the face by Williams.

Williams is identified as 5 foot 5 inches tall and 130 pounds.

If anyone has any information of Williams’ whereabouts, call the Richmond County Sheriff’s Office at 706-821-1020.

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