Event's proceeds will aid accident victims

Harlem United Methodist Church is holding a charity motorcycle ride and carnival Saturday to raise money for those injured in a wreck between a car and 10 motorcycles that left one man dead near Harlem on April 1.

Saturday marks 10 weeks since the wreck on County Line Road that caused the death of Wayne Leroy Malick, 52, of Augusta and injured nine others.

"We're trying to make a good thing out of a terrible accident," said Lisha Davis, of Harlem, an organizer of the fundraiser. Davis is a co-worker of Elisia Hodges, 40, of Martinez, who was injured in the wreck.

On the morning of April 1, about 40 motorcyclists left Harlem Methodist on a charity ride benefitting Relay for Life.

At about 11 a.m., a northbound motorcycle ridden by Donald Birkinshaw, 71, of Harlem, and a southbound Buick driven by Meredith Young, 26, of Thomson, grazed each other, police say. Young lost control and her vehicle veered onto the right shoulder, where she over-corrected, crossed the center line and ran into the nine oncoming motorcycles, police say.

It is still unknown who was at fault; the wreck is still under investigation, said Georgia State Patrol Trooper 1st Class Marion Bragg, of the Gainesville-based Specialized Collision Reconstruction Team.

Bragg said "it will still be sometime before this one will be completed."

Whoever is at fault will face misdemeanor vehicular homicide charges, police say.

Registration for Saturday's motorcycle ride begins outside the church at 8:30 a.m., and the ride kicks off at 10 a.m. The cost to register is $10.

So far, organizers say they expect between 400 and 600 motorcycle riders from clubs throughout the Augusta area.

The carnival, which also begins at 10 a.m., will generate money through vendor fees and ticket sales for children's activities such as dunking booths and jumping rings.

The event also will feature live music, dancing, poetry readings and a comedy show, Davis said.

All proceeds will be donated to the injured riders. Harlem Methodist's pastor, the Rev. Roger Vest, described the injured riders' medical bills at last month's Harlem Relay for Life vigil as "astronomical."

The victim's wife, Kathy Malick, 48, recently returned to a hospital, where doctors inserted rods and a protective halo into her left foot to stabilize her leg, which was seriously injured, said Malick's daughter, Stephanie Malick Robinson.

"She's making great progress and we're excited by that," Robinson said. "I'm so thankful and we're so blessed to be a part of a community that cares so much about everyone."