AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) – A 17-year-old driving a possibly stolen vehicle was critically injured Thursday after fleeing Richmond County deputies, crashing near I-520 and running into interstate traffic, authorities said.

Richmond County deputies went to the area of Barton Chapel Road and Old McDuffie Road at around 8:19 a.m. Thursday for a possible stolen vehicle described as an orange Dodge Challenger.

Deputies located the vehicle at the intersection of Barton Chapel Road and Old McDuffie Road, and as deputies attempted to turn around and make contact, the driver sped away going eastbound on Old McDuffie Road, officials said.

Deputies attempted to follow the vehicle but lost sight of it shortly thereafter.

A short time later, a deputy saw that the Challenger had crashed at the dead end of Old McDuffie Road after traveling through a private fence, authorities say.

The vehicle stopped on an embankment along the southeast shoulder of I-520 eastbound near mile marker 4, according to the sheriff’s office.

As deputies approached the vehicle, deputies said the driver ran across the eastbound lanes of I-520 into oncoming traffic, and was hit by a passing vehicle.

The impact from the first vehicle caused him to hit the windshield of a second vehicle traveling in the same direction, according to officials. He was then propelled over the center barrier wall into the westbound lanes of the interstate.

The driver was transported to Wellstar MCG by Central EMS for treatment and is listed in critical condition, the sheriff’s office said.

Georgia State Patrol has been notified and is leading the investigation into the incident. Any additional information will be released as it becomes available.

The crash shut down all lanes on the interstate for hours on Thursday morning, reopening around 11 a.m.

On Wednesday morning, Richmond County deputies responded to another “serious” crash on Barton Chapel Road, which turned out to be deadly.

According to data provided by the sheriff’s office, traffic collisions in Richmond County decreased by 3% in the past year, from 10,672 in 2024 to 10,402 in 2025.

The more significant decrease came with a 43% in traffic fatalities in the county. Fatalities dropped from 44 in 2024 to 25 in 2025.

More broadly, in Georgia, there were a total of 367,523 crashes in 2024, which is down from 374,006 in 2023, according to GDOT.

There was a total of 1,494 fatal crashes in Georgia in 2024, down from 1,666 in 2023.

GDOT says 76% of the time, fatal crashes are caused by unsafe driving behaviors, including distractions, impairment or driving too fast for conditions.

And in Nov. 2025, the sheriff’s office was one of 26 law enforcement agencies in Georgia to receive a Highway Enforcement of Aggressive Traffic grant. The Governor’s Office of Highway Safety awarded the sheriff’s office with $192,286.36.

The Highway Enforcement of Aggressive Traffic, or H.E.A.T., program is designed to combat crashes, injuries and fatalities caused by impaired driving and speeding, while also increasing seatbelt use and educating the public about traffic safety.

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AUSTIN, Texas — An update to the Austin Police Department’s (APD) procedures outlines that officers are not required to contact U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) when a person is found to have an ICE administrative warrant if they have no other arrestable charge.  

The update follows a controversial deportation from January, when a woman’s disturbance call to APD led to her detainment, alongside her 5-year-old child, who is a U.S. citizen.  

The incident led to questions from the community regarding the way APD is supposed to interact with ICE.  

In a March 4 memo, APD Police Chief Lisa Davis said that the directives provided by ICE administrative warrants could be confusing in their wording.

According to Davis, officers have not historically regularly encountered administrative warrants while using the National Crime Information Center database, which is used to conduct identity checks. However, in 2025, federal agencies began entering a large volume of administrative warrants into the system.

According to the memo, administrative warrants are formatted in a way that looks similar to criminal warrants in the system.

The APD General Orders have been updated to clearly define the difference between criminal warrants and ICE administrative warrants, as well as specific instructions for how ICE administrative warrants should be handled moving forward.

“APD recognizes the sensitivity of this issue, not only within our city but across the nation. These policies were updated to provide clarity to our officers, ensure compliance with state law, and maintain officer discretion guided by supervisory oversight and operational consideration,” Davis said in the memo.

The updated procedures instruct officers to contact their supervisor when a person is found to have only an ICE administrative warrant, but no other arrestable criminal charge. From there, the officer or their supervisor may contact ICE, but is not required to.

“Austin Police and City of Austin leadership share a paramount goal for Austin to be a safe city for everyone who lives, works, or visits here,” Davis said in the memo. “We particularly want to ensure that anyone who witnesses or is the victim of a crime feels secure in contacting the police for help.”

According to the memo, the entire APD staff will be required to complete new training regarding these updates.  

“In concert with the policy updates, APD is launching a public webpage to help people understand their rights and provide links to resources available from the City of Austin and community organizations, such as Know Your Rights training,” Davis said in the memo. “The webpage will also include information on the option of using APD Victim Services as an alternative to calling 9-1-1, when appropriate, and links to all general orders and policies related to immigration.”