Docs: Man crashed work van into bicyclist, left scene

INDIANAPOLIS - A driver hit a bicyclist with his work van, left the scene and then essentially ghosted his company after it happened, police say.




Steven Frazier, 53, is charged with felony counts of leaving the scene of an accident and obstruction of justice, along with a misdemeanor count of criminal mischief in connection with the June hit-and-run crash.

On June 27, Indianapolis Metropolitan police were dispatched to the 3600 block of E. Washington Street, where they found a man lying in the road near his bike. He was taken to an area hospital in "extremely critical condition," according to court documents.




The bicyclist's mother told police he suffered severe head injuries and was unresponsive. He had to have surgery to alleviate pressure for a brain bleed and has been placed in a medically induced coma.

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Investigators said the bike sustained damage consistent with an impact from a passenger vehicle. Detectives recovered parts of a turn signal assembly from the scene.




According to the probable cause affidavit, a check of city cameras showed the man and his bike heading westbound on E. Washington Street going through an intersection around 4:43 a.m. Around the same time, video footage showed a white cargo van going through the intersection with Sherman Drive.




About a minute later, the same van went through the intersection at E. Washington Street and Rural Street. The footage showed the van had visible damage to the right front headlight and the turn signal assembly was hanging from the front.




The driver-later identified as Frazier-stopped the van after turning onto Rural Street. He got out, checked the front of the vehicle and fidgeted with the turn signal assembly before getting back in and driving off.

How police tracked down Frazier

Cameras captured the van's license plate, allowing detectives to track it to Frazier's place of employment. An employee confirmed that the van was part of its fleet and that Frazier was the assigned driver.




The vehicle was equipped with a GPS tracker, so the employee helped detectives locate it at a parking lot for some apartments in the 1300 block of N. Delaware Street.




Investigators noted "extensive damage" to the front of the van, including a busted-out windshield, damage to the hood and the broken front right headlight and turn signal assembly.




After the van was towed away, investigators matched pieces recovered from the scene to the damaged vehicle.




"These pieces were unique could only be fit into these specific head light and turn signal assemblies due and the damage that occurred at the time of the crash," according to court documents.




Later, investigators tried to view video from the van's dash camera. However, there was a problem with the video and the SD card. Detectives were able to view the footage later because the company kept all dashboard camera footage in a cloud server.




Police obtained a search warrant for the video, which the company provided. The footage showed the van hit the bicyclist at 4:43 a.m. on June 27. Frazier was going 54 mph in a 35-mph zone, according to court documents.




The video also showed Frazier getting out of the vehicle to check the damage, using the flashlight from his cellphone in the process.

Frazier called off night before crash

According to a supervisor, Frazier was working on a project in Anderson but called around 9:30 or 9:40 p.m. on June 26. He sounded distraught and said he needed to leave work for the night. Frazier planned to bring the van back to the company's warehouse. He never did.




The crash happened the next morning.




Further review of the dash camera video showed Frazier throwing a large rock or brick into the van's windshield. That accounted for the windshield damage, which did not appear to be part of the crash, according to court documents.

The company said it hadn't heard from Frazier since the June 26 call. He never returned the keys or the van. The company has since suspended him.




Police obtained a warrant for Frazier's arrest and took him into custody early Wednesday morning.





via: https://fox59.com/news/indycrime/docs-man-crashed-work-van-into-bicyclist-left-scene/