Traffic light seen as a need at Columbia County intersection where retired fire chief killed

EVANS, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) — Officials say a traffic signal is needed at a Columbia County intersection where a retired Augusta-Richmond County Fire Rescue battalion chief was killed last week, after residents say they have spent years warning officials about the danger.

Frank Lanier was riding his motorcycle west on Columbia Road on Monday, July 28, when a driver turning left from North Old Belair Road failed to yield and struck him, according to a Columbia County Sheriff’s Office crash report (Case #26-010851). The impact ejected Lanier from his motorcycle. The driver has since been charged with failure to yield while turning left and misdemeanor second-degree vehicle homicide.

A neighborhood that has outgrown its intersection

The crash occurred at the sole entry and exit point for the Crawford Creek community, a neighborhood of approximately 2,500 families and 1,100 homes situated between Columbia Road and Hereford Farm Road.

Nate Dowd, who has lived in Crawford Creek for six years, said the area’s growth has made the intersection increasingly difficult to navigate.

“Since we moved here it’s really exploded in population,” Dowd said. “Before the neighborhood built up, traffic wasn’t so bad and people could get out. It’s always been a 50-50 shot — especially if you’re trying to turn left from North Old Belair onto Columbia.”

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Dowd said a sight-line problem at the intersection compounds the danger. Vehicles in the turning lane can block drivers’ views of cars traveling straight in the adjacent lane.

“If you are sitting there and there are cars in the turning lane — it obscures other vehicles in the lane next to it that are going straight,” Dowd said. “So you could potentially think that one car could be turning right into the neighborhood — but there is a car there that was being obscured by that turning vehicle.”

42 crashes since 2022

Call data obtained from the Columbia County Sheriff’s Office shows the intersection has recorded 42 accidents since 2022, including six with injuries and one hit and run — nearly one crash every six weeks over four years.

Dowd said residents have repeatedly brought the issue to officials. “We’ve done petitions. We’ve contacted the media in the past and brought it to the county and got GDOT involved — which came and did a study, which is probably outdated now,” he said.

Signal already in design phase

Columbia County told News 12 it conducted two traffic studies at the intersection, the most recent in 2025, and formally requested the Georgia Department of Transportation install a signal. The county also said it contacted GDOT on the morning of August 3.

GDOT said the screening identified a traffic signal as a possible solution, and a concept for one was drawn up, but, at this time, a signal has not been chosen as the path forward.

A more complete traffic study is being done, GDOT says.

“We are looking forward to changes — potentially a light being put up there, to solve that issue,” Dowd said.

Dowd said Lanier’s death hit the community hard. “He was a very prominent person in the community — he did a lot of good serving his community. It’s terrible,” he said.