Well-known local Master Gardener Bill Adams was doing what he loved to do when a bizarre incident took his life on Sunday afternoon.

Authorities said Adams, 72, was apparently working in his flower beds, stacking yard waste near the street at his Seymour Drive home when Chatrice Evans, also of Seymour Drive, drove by in a 2002 Ford Taurus and struck him. The North Augusta Department of Public Safety said the vehicle never left the roadway, indicating Adams stepped into the street as he worked.

Investigators said the driver first thought she hit a trash can, but returned to the scene after stopping to check her vehicle for damage and finding a scrap of denim. She said she then realized she may have hit a person.

Adams was thrown about 15 feet from the point of impact, according to police reports. When Public Safety officers arrived on the scene, the victim was still breathing but had suffered head trauma. He was pronounced dead at MCG at 3:43 p.m.

The driver admitted she was traveling about 40 mph on the street, which has a posted speed limit of 35.

North Augusta authorities are investigating whether charges should be filed.

The gardening community will miss Adams, said Lynn Thompson, manager of the Living History Park. She noted Adams was a great supporter of the sensory garden at the park. A retired postal worker, Adams was a Master Gardener and was very involved in the garden at Redcliffe Plantation as well.

Adams was the 33rd traffic fatality in Aiken County this year, according to the coroner's office.