Condition of wreck victims downgraded

Conditions have worsened for three people injured in a Saturday wreck involving a car and 10 motorcycles on the Columbia-McDuffie County line, a hospital spokeswoman said.

Kathy Malick, 48, of Augusta, and Carl Albritton, 54, of Bartow, have been downgraded from fair to serious condition, Medical College of Georgia Hospital spokeswoman Danielle Wong Moores said. Jimmy Barnes, 57, of Hephzibah, has been downgraded to fair from good condition, she said.

Elisia Hodges, 40, of Martinez, remains in fair condition, Ms. Moores said. Calls made to a University Hospital spokeswoman about the condition of motorcyclist Donald "Lucky" Birkinshaw, 71, of Harlem, were not immediately returned.

The wreck occurred on County Line Road near Harlem, when a Buick LeSabre driven by 26-year-old Meredith Young collided with one of the first motorcycles in a Relay for Life ride traveling in the opposite direction, witnesses said. The Buick continued south and struck additional motorcycles.

Killed in the wreck was Augustan Wayne Leroy Malick, 52, of the 800 block of Brookfield Parkway. An autopsy revealed Mr. Malick died of multiple blunt force injuries, Columbia County Deputy Coroner Vernon Collins said.

In all, nine people were taken to area hospitals.

A dispatcher with the Thomson post of the Georgia State Patrol said a Specialized Collision Reconstruction Team based in Gainesville was leading the investigation. Calls to the investigator in Gainesville were not immediately returned.

Reach J. Scott Trubey at (706) 868-1222.