CLASSIC CITY NEWS

Released today by the Athens-Clarke County Police Department: On March 6, 2026, at approximately 5:15 AM, the Athens-Clarke County Police Department responded to a single-vehicle crash at the intersection of Cedar Shoals Drive and Whit Davis Road. The initial investigation indicated that a 2010 Volkswagen Jetta was traveling eastbound on Cedar Shoals Drive when the vehicle left the roadway and struck a tree. The driver and sole occupant of the vehicle, 32-year-old Rochelle Jo

By Joe Johnson The man who was killed by train in Winder Monday morning has been identified as 67-year-old Johnny Ray Gooch. The incident occurred shortly before noon on CSX tracks in the area of Atlanta Highway and Cedar Creek Road. The engineer told authorities that he saw Gooch lying on the tracks but was not able to stop the train in time, The incident is under investigation by the Barrow County Sheriff’s Office, which did not have a home address for Gooch.

Released today by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation WALTON COUNTY, GA (March 5, 2026) The victim in a Wednesday night fatality in Walton County has been sent to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation’s crime lab for assistance in identification. Georgia State Patrol Post 46 Assistant Post Commander Christoph Ayers said the fatality was the result of a single vehicle crash on H D Atha Road in Walton County on March 4, 2026. Ayers said GSP TFC2 Smith was dispatched to the scene

The following was released by the Athens-Clarke County Police Department On February 21, 2026, at approximately 8:30 PM, the Athens-Clarke County Police Department responded to an injury crash on Olympic Drive. Initial investigation indicates that the driver of a 2013 BMW 650i sedan struck a bicyclist operating a GS5 740W electric bike in the rear. Both vehicles were traveling westbound on Olympic Drive, near the intersection of Athena Drive. The bicyclist, Kul Chokhal, a 37-

By Joe Johnson Authorities are investigating the death of a 68-year-old woman whose body was discovered hanging in her home on Towns Walk Drive Wednesday night. Responding to a call from a relative, police officers found the woman hanging in the living room from a rope tied to a second-floor balcony. Police said that the woman had left a suicide note on a counter. Detectives continue to investigate the matter.

By Joe Johnson A 30-year-old woman from Snellville checked into an Atlanta Highway motel room last Thursday evening and less than 48 hours later her lifeless body was found sprawled across the bed. She became the fourth person to apparently die from fentanyl use not even two full months into the new year, continuing the deadly trend of nearly three dozen such deaths in 2025. According to Athens-Clarke County Coroner Michael Eberhart, in 2025 there were 33 confirmed or suspec

By Joe Johnson A 59-year-old man who passed away this month in a house on Helen Street might be the third person in Athens to have died from the recent extreme cold weather. Rogelio Perez was lying on the floor of the basement that he was sharing with a roommate when the other man found him deceased on the morning of February 1st. According to a police report, “his face was frozen with his mouth wide open,” and “it appeared as if Mr, Perez was attempting to plug in a heater.

By Joe Johnson Authorities are asking for the public’s help with identifying a woman whose body was recently found outside of a business along Atlanta Highway. The middle-aged homeless woman is believed to have died from exposure during the recent extreme cold weather. She was found the morning of January 27th by an employee of American Pest Control in the rear parking lot of the business. There were no indications of alcohol or drug abuse, according to County Coroner Michael

The following was released by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation Jackson County, GA (February 4, 2026) - At the request of the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office, GBI agents are investigating a death in Jackson County. On Wednesday, February 4, 2026, at about 11:15 a.m., the Jefferson Police Department responded to a location off of Fields Road in Jackson County after several citizens were searching near where a crash occurred on Sunday, February 1, 2026. On Wednesday, February

The following was released by the Athens-Clarke County Police Department On January 28, 2026, at approximately 7:35 p.m., ACCPD officers responded to a single-vehicle crash in the 300 block of Peabody Street. The investigation determined that a 2018 Toyota Tundra was parked along Peabody Street while the driver, George Whittenburg, a 21-year-old UGA studen of Austin, Texas, was standing outside the driver’s door. The vehicle began rolling in reverse, striking and rolling over

The following was released this afternoon by the Athens-Clarke County Police Department On January 28, 2026, at approximately 7:35 p.m., ACCPD officers responded to a single-vehicle crash in the 300 block of Peabody Street. The investigation determined that a 2018 Toyota Tundra was parked along Peabody Street while the driver, George Whittenburg, a 21-year-old UGA studen of Austin, Texas, was standing outside the driver’s door. The vehicle began rolling in reverse, striking a

By Joe Johnson A 22-year-old man apparently froze to deathTuesday night in a homeless encampment off Old Hull Road. Dequavious Ragsdale reportedly showed up at the camp a few days earlier needing somewhere to stay and one of the residents offered to share his tent. A family member reported that he had been staying with her until he left on Sunday. The man who allowed Ragsdale into his tent called 911 at 7:25 am Wednesday to report that his guest wasn’t breathing and hadn’t

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