Police blotter
The following accounts were taken from reports filed with the Columbia County Sheriff's Office:
Three men die in Interstate 20 crash
Three college students died Wednesday afternoon in a crash on Interstate 20 in Taliaferro County.
The victims were identified as Tariq Fischer, 19, and Imran Khan, 20, both of Martinez; and Mohammad Hasan, 19, of Pennsylvania.
Fischer was a 2004 graduate of Lakeside High School, and a student at Swarthmore College near Philadelphia. He had written as a correspondent for The Columbia County News-Times. Khan graduated from Lakeside in 2003.
Authorities were notified of the accident at 4:33 p.m.
The accident occurred when a 1999 BMW 323-I, driven by Fischer, crossed the grassy median on I-20 and struck the front of an 18-wheeler driven by Terry Kelley, 44, of Stockbridge, Ga.
The accident happened about three miles west of the Crawfordville exit, authorities said.
Kelley survived the crash and refused medical treatment.
Alcohol was not a factor in the accident, and all three were wearing seat belts.
The rain might have contributed to the accident, possibly causing the car to hydroplane.
Woman reports debit card fraud
A Grovetown woman told police Monday that someone charged more than $400 to her debit card.
The woman, who lives in the 5000 block of Old Belair Road, said that when she went to use her debit card, it was rejected.
She said she was informed about the charges after her credit union called her, asking if she was still in Las Vegas, which the woman said she has never visited. The incident occurred between 8:15 p.m. July 9 and 2 p.m. July 11.
Cell phone account is opened fraudulently
A case of financial identity fraud was reported to police Monday after an Evans woman said someone used her Social Security number to open a cell phone account.
The woman, who lives in the 800 block of Prairie Lane, said someone used her Social Security number without her permission to get a cell phone and open an account, a report states.
The incident occurred sometime before 5 p.m. Monday.