MILLWOOD — A Waynesville family was involved in a tragic one-vehicle accident Sunday morning traveling west on Ga. 520 in Millwood.
Nicholas Dewayne Huggins, Jr., 28, and his wife, Lauren Huggins, 24, were injured in the 10:17 a.m., August 5 crash. Their one-year-old son, Westly Huggins, was pronounced dead at the scene by Ware County Coroner David Jordan.
“It’s so tragic when such a young life is lost,” Ware County Sheriff Carl James said in a news release. “My thoughts and prayers are with his family and everyone touched by his loss.”
The father and mother were transported to Memorial Satilla Health by Ware County EMS and later transferred to JMS Burn Center at Doctors Hospital in Augusta for treatment, authorities said.
Ware County Sheriff’s Office Patrol Deputies Zackary Lytle, Chase Highsmith, and Sgt. Theresa Wright initially responded to the scene of a single-vehicle wreck with injuries and entrapment on Ga. 520 near its intersection with Manor Millwood Road.
Nicholas Huggins was driving a late-model Ford Bronco with Kayla Huggins in the front passenger seat and the child in the back right rear seat. According to the Georgia State Patrol, which also investigated the wreck, the family’s vehicle was traveling west in the right lane when the driver lost control, crossed over the eastbound lanes, and left the roadway.
The SUV then struck a concrete culvert, overturned, and caught fire just off the roadway while resting on its roof.
Witnesses were able to pull both the driver and passenger from the burning vehicle. The child could not be rescued with the vehicle fully engulfed in flames, said authorities.
Ware County Fire Department responded to the scene.
According to a social media post Sunday by Jowers Chapel Holiness Baptist Church in Coffee County, the family was on their way to Jowers Chapel for its morning service. The post sought prayers for the family.
GSP Trooper Dallas Harper Further investigation into the wreck was turned over to the SCRT Team (Specialized Collision Reconstruction Team) of the GSP.
