DOT will honor shooting victim

The Georgia Department of Transportation will give one final honor to an employee next week when an Augusta bridge is named in his memory.

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Jackie Ricciardi/Staff

The State Route 104 bridge over the canal will be named for William "Billy" Powell, who spent 34 years with the department.

The bridge at State Route 104 and the Augusta Canal will be named after William "Billy" Powell, who was killed at a Huddle House in North Augusta in 2005.

The ceremony will be held at 2 p.m. Tuesday at Eisenhower Park in Augusta.

Mr. Powell retired from the department in 1996 after 34 years as an engineer. He is survived by his wife, Mary Alice, and two daughters, according to a department press release.

The resolution to name the bridge after him came from workers who introduced a bill to the Georgia Legislature.

Mr. Powell, 61, died after a gunman shot him in the Huddle House parking lot Nov. 22, 2005.

The gunman had tried to hijack the car of Constance Davidson in a Burger King drive-through. She was shot in the back as she drove away. As she drove to a gas station for help, the gunman went to the nearby Huddle House, shooting Mr. Powell in the head and the Rev. Earl Carter in the throat.

North Augusta Police Chief Lee Wetherington said the case is still unsolved.

The man is described as 20 to 25 years old, 5 feet 4 inches to 5 feet 8 inches tall and about 180 pounds. He has brown eyes, dark eyebrows and sandy brown hair.

Phone calls to the Powell family were not returned.

Reach Julia Sellers at (706) 823-3424 or julia.sellers@augustachronicle.com.