Paralyzed Atlanta Musician Killed on Charity Fundraiser Trip

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Photo Credit: Wheel 2 Live/Facebook

An Atlanta musician attempting to raise money to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the Americans With Disabilities Act by pushing himself from Atlanta to Savannah in his wheelchair was killed in a collision on Wednesday.

Harmonica player Frank Barham, 59, died when he was struck by his chase/escort van on Highway 21 at the Effingham-Screven county line after a tanker truck rear-ended the van, according to the Savannah Morning News. Margaret Kargbo, 36, a passenger in the van, was also killed in the collision. Creative Loafing reports that Kargbo was the chairwoman of the board of Atlanta arts nonprofit C4.

Barham, who was paralyzed in a car accident decades ago, was attempting to wheel his way along the route Gen. William T. Sherman used for his 1864 “March to the Sea” in an effort to raise money to purchase wheelchairs for disabled people who cannot afford them, the Morning News says. Barham was accompanied by a van meant to protect him from other vehicles.

The driver of the van, 34-year-old Carrie Johnson of Villa Rica, was pulled from the vehicle before it became fully engulfed, but still had to be flown to Doctors Hospital of Augusta for treatment of burns, the Morning News says. The driver of the tanker truck, 46-year-old Kenneth W. Richards of North Augusta, SC, was uninjured but is likely to face charges from the Georgia State Patrol.

Barham’s wife Adriana told WSB-TV that her husband had originally wanted to take their dog Scooter on the trip, which was going to end on Saturday with a benefit concert at a Savannah church, but was forced to leave the dog at home at the last minute. Adriana said the decision saved Scooter’s life, and added that she felt her husband would be glad to know Scooter would be around to comfort her.