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Inset: Joshua Frye (Audrain County Jail). Background: The stretch of road where Frye caused a fatal crash in Mexico, Mo. (Google Maps).
A Missouri man has been handed a relatively lenient sentence, albeit with conditions, for a drunk-driving incident that tragically claimed two lives over the summer.
Joshua Frye, aged 24, faced the court on Monday, where he admitted guilt to charges including driving while intoxicated leading to the deaths of two or more individuals, reckless driving, and causing serious injury while under the influence, as confirmed by the Audrain County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office.
The harrowing event unfolded on July 12 in Mexico, a small town situated about 40 miles northwest of Columbia. Frye was driving on South Clark Street while intoxicated and dangerously on the wrong side of the road, according to court records reviewed by Law & Crime.
Prosecutors have labeled the charges related to Frye’s actions as “criminal negligence,” as noted in a heavily redacted document from mid-October. This document further characterizes the accident as a result of “careless and imprudent” driving.
The details in the charging document, which bypassed a grand jury’s evaluation, allege that Frye was operating his vehicle “at a speed too fast for conditions,” veering out of his lane and colliding with an oncoming car, thereby posing a significant risk to the safety and lives of others prior to the crash.
In the ensuing crash, the defendant caused a head-on collision by veering into the wrong lane and hitting another car.
While the charging document describes the victims as “confidential,” previous reporting by Columbia-based ABC affiliate KMIZ identified the victims as Kristian Pritchett, 22, and Austin Terry, 27.
Pritchett and Terry were Frye’s passengers in the southbound Kia Soul, which collided with a northbound Chrysler of unknown model. A third person, Elliot Kitson, 29, was injured but survived, according to a press release issued by the Mexico Department of Public Safety.
Details of the crash were revealed in a probable cause statement obtained by Carrollton-based radio station KMZU.
The driver of the Chrysler said the Soul lost control on a slight curve and ran straight into his own car just before 6:30 a.m. that day, police said. In the immediate aftermath of the crash, Frye smelled strongly of alcohol and admitted to drinking before driving. Law enforcement also recovered multiple alcoholic beverages from inside the Soul.
On Monday, Audrain County Prosecutor Jacob Shellabarger announced the defendant was sentenced to 15 years on the vehicular homicide charge, seven years on the lesser DWI charge, and one year on the reckless driving charge. The prosecutor indicated those sentences would be served concurrently – or, at the same time. But those sentences will, in fact, be suspended – at least for now.
First, Frye will be allowed to complete a 120-day treatment program in the Department of Corrections; he has been in custody since recuperating from his own severe injuries after the crash. Then, pending the results of that treatment program, the defendant might find himself on five years of probation in lieu of prison.
Shellabarger, in a press release, said the victims’ families opposed the plea deal.
“The victims’ families spoke at sentencing, indicating they wanted Frye to face the maximum possible punishment, that they would never see their family members again, and that it was unjust that Frye would get to walk free again,” the prosecutor said. “Those family members opposed the plea agreement, wanting Joshua Frye to serve prison time without the treatment program or possibility of probation.”
The prosecutor noted the defendant lacked a criminal history prior to the incident when defending the conditional plea deal.
“Joshua Frye’s decision to drive recklessly, while intoxicated on both drugs and alcohol, caused the death of two people, taking their lives, and changed the life of another through serious physical injury,” Shellabarger said. “Austin Terry and Kristian Pritchett should not have died,” the prosecutor went on. “Joshua Frye is solely responsible for their deaths, and will face the maximum possible punishment if he is not successful in the Department of Corrections drug and alcohol treatment program and complete the strict, restrictive and appropriate terms of probation, if he is to be released…Accountability comes in many forms, and this sentence sends a strong message that driving under the influence of drugs and alcohol, and driving recklessly, have devastating consequences.”