COLDWATER, MI (WTVB) – The Branch County District Court preliminary examination for 21-year-old Tyler Frye of Angola, Indiana has been rescheduled for September 19, 2019 after it was adjourned for a second time Thursday.
Frye is facing six charges including three counts of Operating Under the Influence of Liquor, Causing Death in connection with the deaths of three children in a June 7, 2019 Algansee Township traffic accident.
A court spokesperson said lawyers for both sides agreed to delay the preliminary examination after meeting with Judge Brent Weigle in his chambers. No action was taken on Thursday in open court.
A preliminary exam is held to determine if there is enough probable cause to send the case to Circuit Court for trial.
According to court documents, defense attorney Fred Taylor has filed a pair of suppression requests surrounding Frye’s blood draw by police. A motion filed last week says there was a lack of valid consent.
Frye is free after posting a $200,000 bond with ten percent allowed. His bond was originally set at $500,000 but it was lowered at Taylor’s request during a motion hearing in June. Under terms of the bond, Frye can not have any alcohol and he not allowed in any bars. He must also undergo random drug and alcohol testing.
Michigan State Police say three children between the ages of two and six and an unborn child died after a pickup truck driven by Frye allegedly hit the back of an Amish horse-drawn carriage on Kelley Road south of Lester Road. Their mother and another child were seriously injured.
