CLASSIC CITY NEWS

By Joe Johnson The motorist who was killed at an eastside intersection Christmas morning when his car crashed and burst into flames has been identified by police as 36-year-old Edwin Webb of Athens. The incident happened shortly before 6 a.m. at the intersection of Barnett Shoals and Gaines School roads. According to police, the car had sped into the intersection and struck a tree in the parking lot of Synovus Bank, where the vehicle became engulfed in flames. Webb’s badly

By Joe Johnson Authorities are investigating the death of a man whose body was found Tuesday morning on train tracks off of Old Hull Road. A CSX engineer called 911 just before 11 a.m. to report that his train was traveling northbound when he saw a motionless body on the tracks. Police said that upon responding to the scene they observed a dead man whose body had injuries consistent with having been struck by a train. A resident of a nearby homeless camp gave police a possi

By Joe Johnson More than a dozen Athens residents had already died from fentanyl poisoning as the final   month of 2025 began. That death toll has climbed even higher during December. “I have about 14 confirmed Fentanyl cases so far” this year,”’ Athens-Clarke County Coroner Michael Eberhart said on Monday, “I have other cases still pending (lab) results.” Among those pending cases is that of a 41-year-old woman who died in her home on Vine Street last Friday. She was found

By Joe Johnson The Athens-Clarke County Police Department is investigating the death of a 2-year boy who died inside his home eastside home where evidence of drug use was discovered. The 38-year-old mother told police that they went to sleep in her bed Christmas night and when she woke up the next morning her son was in the middle of the bed and not breathing. She reportedly moved the child to a couch in the living room where police found him upon their arrival. Police said

By Joe Johnson Barely 24 horns after a motorists was killed in a fiery Christmas morning crash in east Athens a woman died today in another single-car wreck on the east side of town. According to police, it happened at about 10 a.m. at the intersection of North and Strickland avenues, where 53-year-old Dejon Ellis of Athens failed to negotiate a curve and crashed her car into a utility pole. She reportedly died at the scene. The other deadly crash happened at about 6 a.m.

(Jonathan Burden) By Joe Johnson A 36-year-old Athens man was killed Christmas morning when his car crashed and burst into flames at an eastside intersection. Police are withholding the victim’s name pending positive identification by his next of kin. The incident happened shortly before 6 a.m. at the intersection of Barnett Shoals and Gaines School roads. According to police, the car had sped into the intersection and struck a tree in the parking lot of Synovus Bank, wher

By Joe Johnson The scourge of fentanyl continued to claim lives throughout 2025 in Athens, with a 32-year-old man dying from using the drug in his home on the eastside last week. The deadly drug has been very much in the news locally, with several prisoners dying at the county jail from using fentanyl smuggled in by a woman who had been employed there as a nurse. The most recent victim was found dead by his housemate who went into his bedroom after not having seen him all mor

By Joe Johnson A 36-year-old Athens man was killed Christmas morning when his car crashed and burst into flames at an eastside intersection. Police are withholding the victim’s name pending positive identification by his next of kin. The incident happened shortly before 6 a.m. at the intersection of Barnett Shoals and Gaines School roads. According to police, the car had sped into the intersection and struck a tree in the parking lot of Synovus Bank, where the vehicle beca

Lexi and Soonhoon By Joe Johnson Sara Alexis Waldroup this morning passed away from the injuries she suffered in the vehicle collision in which her husband was killed three days earlier. Her father broke the news in a Facebook post that that “Lexi” and her unborn child had lost their struggle to survive. Newlyweds Lexi and Soonhoon Choi had been driving on the Athens Perimeter early in the morning of December 21st when their car was struck head-.on by a car that was speeding

By Joe Johnson Soonhoon Choi and his wife, Lexi, were driving on the Athens Perimeter Sunday morning when a car speeding in the opposite direction slammed into their car. Soonhoon, 25, was killed and Lexi remains hospitalized in critical condition. She is pregnant with the newlywed couple’s child. Lexi’s family has established a gofundme to help pay for medical expenses, including rehab and further medical care for Lexi, funeral expenses, and living expenses for mother and ch

By Joe Johnson Soonhoon Choi and his wife, Lexi, were driving on the Athens Perimeter Sunday morning when a car speeding in the opposite direction slammed into their car. Soonhoon, 25, was killed and Lexi remains hospitalized in critical condition. She is pregnant with the newlywed couple’s child. Her family has established a gofundme to help pay for medical expenses, including rehab and further medical care for Lexi, funeral expenses, and living expenses for mother and child

The following was released by the Athens-Clarke County Police Department On December 21, 2025, at approximately 12:08 AM, ACCPD responded to reports of a wrong- way driver on the GA 10 Inner Loop at Chase Street. Moments later, a report of a crash was received on the Inner Loop at Oglethorpe Ave. The initial investigation determined that the driver of a 2021 Kia Seltos, Desiree Browning, a 26- year-old female of Lawrenceville, GA, was traveling the wrong way on Inner Loop 10

By Joe Johnson Two people were killed and two others were critically injured early Sunday in a collision on the Athens Perimeter that was caused by someone driving on the wrong side of the divided highway. The incident happened at around 12:30 a.m. near Tallassee Road, where the errant driver reportedly had been driving at a very high rate of speed and struck another car head-on. The drivers of both vehicles were killed. Firefighters extracted the victims from their vehicles

By Joe Johnson Two people were killed and two others were badly injured in a multi-vehicle crash early Sunday morning on the Athens Perimeter, The incident happened at around 12:30 a.m. near Tallassee Road. Firefighters extracted the victims from their vehicles and the two survivors were transported to Piedmont Athens Medical Center. CCN has reached out to the police department seeking details.

By Joe Johnson A 19-year-old University of Georgia student last week died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Ryan Victor Snyder reportedly shot himself on December 4th with a gun he rented at the Athens Gun Club off Atlanta Highway. He died the following day in his home town of St. Louis, Missouri. Ryan was a business student at UGA and in high school had played basketball and volleyball, and also wrestled. He was a National Honor Society member and his obituary said that R

By Joe Johnson Athens police said they were investigating after finding the body of a 63-year-old man in his home on Merlin Place. A neighbor had requested that a welfare check be made on Walter Carrasquillo because she had not seen him in two weeks. She reported that the man was alone because his wife “had been taken to Florida,” and a strange odor was coming from his home. When police arrived they found a phone glued to the front door that was connected to a cable. Upon mak

By Joe Johnson Lewis Kern was found dead in the bathroom of his apartment on Tuesday morning, two month after his roommate died from a gunshot wound in the home they shared on North Avenue. Athens police on Thursday said that both deaths continued to be investigated. “We have yet to determine the manner of death for Mr. Kern. An autopsy will be performed ,” said Lt. Katie Jenkins. “As for Mr. Bellard, there does not appear to be anything criminal at this time but it is still

By Joe Johnson University of Georgia players and coaches alike are mourning the recent death of a beloved worker at their facility. They even dedicated their win on Saturday against Mississippi State to Kimberly Allen, who died in her Athens home on November 5th. “We dedicated this win to Ms. Kim Allen, who’s a co-worker of ours, worked in our facility,” said Coach Kirby Smart. “She was an incredible lady.” Running back Nate Frazier has fond memories of the 45-year-.old UGA

By Joe Johnson Police are investigating the death of a man whose body was found Thursday night in The View at NODA apartment complex near downtown Athens. The body of 22-year-old Antonio Lamar Jewell of Winterville was found at the rear of the new complex that opened in May on the former site of Bethel Midtown Village, Police would not say why the man’s death is being investigated by Criminal Investigations Division detectives. “CID is actively investigating the circumstance

By Joe Johnson A homeless man died from a fentanyl overdose Monday morning in the woods of northern Athens. According to police, it was the second time the 41-year-old man had overdosed within a day. Police said that officers responded shortly after midnight to an encampment off Old Hull Road across from Athens Technical College where CPR on the man was already in progress. They were told by his girlfriend that he had overdosed on fentanyl earlier in the day and that he had o