Family remembers 30-year-old dad killed in Padgett Highway crash

AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) - It’s been five days since two people died on Mike Padgett Highway after a car crash.

One of those victims was 30-year-old Richard Faber from Burke County.

His family tells News 12 he held many titles in his 30-year life span. Navy veteran, son, brother, and husband, but his wife says his favorite title was dad.

“There’s one song that always runs through my mind that reminds me so much of Rich, ‘I am an old chunk of coal but I’m gonna be a diamond one day,’” said Faber’s father-in-law, Roy Lathrop.

Rich is the diamond that caught Kari-Ann Faber’s eye more than a decade ago.

“We met on MySpace chat rooms. I was 10. Definitely shouldn’t have been in a chat room,” she said.

From there, the cyber lovers created a life together.

“We reconnected when I was like 17. When I turned 18, me and a friend from college drove to Indiana to meet him for the first time. I knew then he was the one,” said Kari-Ann.

Their journey together came with a few bumps in the road.

“We did have a miscarriage the first time I got pregnant and it was very hard on both of us. But again, because of the way he is, he kind of pushed his own feelings to the side and was there for me through anything,” said Kari-Ann.

But no matter the circumstances, Rich faced adversity with a smile.

Lathrop said: “Rich always had a smile on his face. It didn’t matter what was going on. It didn’t matter even in the worst of times, Richard had a smile on his face.”

His son, Michael, arrived a year later when he was deployed.

“The official day that I lost the baby was April 9, 2016. Michael’s due date was April 10, 2017, then he was born on the sixth,” said Kari-Ann.

On Friday night, Rich was killed in a head-on collision on Mike Padgett Highway.

As they push through for the days ahead, Kari-Ann is reminded of one thing. “He would just want me to continue to remember him how he was and make sure our kids know how much he loved them,” she said.

The greatest gift he leaves behind is the gift of life.

“It was just a couple of weeks ago that we found out that she was a girl and I know we both wanted a girl but he was so excited,” said Kari-Ann.

Kari-Ann says they are extremely thankful for everyone who was at the scene of the crash Friday night. They are so humbled by the community that has wrapped their arms around the family during this time.

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