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Driver charged with felony neglect after kids ejected from truck

Thursday, January 20, 2022

PUTNAMVILLE — A Fillmore man was charged with two crimes following a Jan. 8 incident in which two minors were ejected from his truck on ice-covered roads.

At 3:02 p.m., when roads throughout the area were covered in ice, Michael L. Frazee, 63, Fillmore, was eastbound on U.S. 40 and hit ice on a bridge over the railroad tracks.

Frazee lost control of the truck and hit a guardrail, at which time the two youths, ages 10 and 13, were ejected. Neither child was wearing a safety belt prior to the accident.

The juveniles were transported to Putnam County Hospital to be checked out, but were not injured.

However, Frazee was found to be driving with a suspended license with a prior conviction. He also smelled of alcohol, but was within the legal limit on a portable breath test.

Frazee was ultimately charged with Level 6 felony neglect of a dependent and Class A misdemeanor driving with a suspended license with a prior conviction.

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  • When will the sheriff's department start using body worn cameras like Greencastle Police? State police are getting them right now, and other counties sheriff dept. nearby already have them or are getting them. Would be interested to know when the sheriff candidates would plan on getting them, if elected. I believe it would go a long way in restoring trust between some in the community and law enforcement. They say that everyone tends to be on better behavior in those situations when they know there's a camera rolling.

    Especially with Putnam Co. sheriff's dept. history, and one deputy a few years ago found guilty of assaulting people while on duty and others falsifying reports to cover it up! Some I believe still work there, correct me if I'm wrong about any of this...

    -- Posted by Raker on Thu, Jan 20, 2022, at 10:59 AM

  • Raker: I agree about the cameras but what does all of that have to do with this story?

    -- Posted by Ben Dover on Thu, Jan 20, 2022, at 12:00 PM

  • Obviously, some don't trust law enforcement. I agree with the cameras but don't think it will ever build trust.

    -- Posted by beg on Thu, Jan 20, 2022, at 12:31 PM

  • @Ben Dover Well, the body-worn cameras a really important issue, but unfortunately we can't comment on articles related to the sheriff's election because this newspaper won't allow it, so I'm doing it here. I saw these two articles labeled with the sheriff's dept. badge and it made me think about it. That, and all the silliness with the sheriff's dept facebook getting hacked...it does seem like creating a positive image is something they want to do. Though I think the facebook page is really just Corporal Ducker's personal hobby under the pretense of being some official law enforcement information resource, to be honest.

    -- Posted by Raker on Thu, Jan 20, 2022, at 12:56 PM

  • So sick of drunks driving around with kids in the vehicle. They show no responsibility at all.

    -- Posted by Queen53 on Thu, Jan 20, 2022, at 4:04 PM
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    You tell 'em Queenie... drunks need to be responsible and drive around by themselves. LOL

    As he was under the legal limit, you cant say he was driving drunk.

    He may have been impaired from alcohol. He may have taken some cold medicine.

    But what he DID do was not inform his passengers that they must be securely fastened with a seat belt or else the state will try to exact their pound of flesh should the state find out otherwise.

    Seatbelt laws are government over-reach.

    And yeah, I would wear one even if it wasn't the law. After all, they do work.

    -- Posted by dreadpirateroberts on Thu, Jan 20, 2022, at 9:00 PM

  • I agree on the point of not being able to comment on certain articles. Several times I’ve found myself frustrated at having an opinion and inexplicably not being able to share it. And I know you all value my opinions here!

    -- Posted by techphcy on Sat, Jan 22, 2022, at 12:10 AM

  • dreadpirateroberts: Stop defending someone who was in the wrong and could have killed another driver. I seriously doubt he was using cold medicine. Just another bum who has no respect for the law.

    -- Posted by Queen53 on Sat, Jan 22, 2022, at 12:15 PM
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    Queenie -

    Perhaps you missed that part of the article - and my comment - where it is stated that he was under the legal limit... i.e. NOT LEGALLY INTOXICATED.

    So, where is YOUR respect for the law?

    And if you paid any attention to anything I have written, you would know that I have no love for drunk drivers.

    -- Posted by dreadpirateroberts on Sun, Jan 23, 2022, at 10:22 PM
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