January 22, 2010

AUGUSTA, Ga. -- A man driving an SUV died in an accident after losing control and crashing into a ditch Friday afternoon, the Richmond County coroner said.

Investigators closed down a lane on the 3900 block of Mike Padgett Highway after the accident happened shortly after 4 p.m.

Gregory Zurkin, 58, was killed in the crash. Coroner Johnny McDonald says he was not wearing a seat belt. The cause of death was blunt force trauma.

The crash happened after the right hand tires on Zurkin's vehicle ran off the road. He over-corrected and the car hit a median in front of the entrance to County Place before flipping several times.

The driver was thrown from the vehicle and was pronounced dead at 4:45 p.m.