Indiana: Driver who struck trooper’s car said he had just used meth

An Indiana State Trooper was hospitalized for a time Monday after the squad car he was sitting in was struck by another vehicle while he was involved with a traffic stop in Indianapolis. The driver of the Chevy Trailblazer that hit the squad car initially told investigators he might have fallen asleep just prior to the crash on Shadeland Avenue just north of 38th Street. He later changed his story.

Trooper Derek Miller had his emergency lights activated at the time of the crash and the impact pushed the squad car into the rear end of the vehicle he had stopped. Trooper Miller was taken to a hospital for treatment and was later released. The two people inside the car he had stopped were checked out by paramedics at the scene.

The driver of the Trailblazer, Frank Allen Freduccia, 49, of Louisiana was arrested after being released from an Indianapolis hospital for treatment. He tried to escape once outside the hospital, but was quickly captured after a short foot chase. Freduccia told police he had just used methamphetamine prior to the crash. Investigators also determined the SUV he was driving had been stolen from an Indianapolis gas station in December.

He faces the following preliminary charges:

• Operating While Intoxicated – 9-30-5-2 (Class A Misdemeanor)
• Operating While Intoxicated Refusal (Class A Misdemeanor)
• Operating While Intoxicated causing Injury: (Level 6 Felony)
• Possession of Stolen Property (Level 6 Felony)
• Resisting Law Enforcement (Class A Misdemeanor)
• Failure to Yield to an Emergency Vehicle (Infraction)

As of Tuesday morning, Freduccia was being held at the Marion County Adult Processing Center.