County named in wrongful death suit

LINCOLN COUNTY – The family of a Lincoln County man who died after an accident with a semi in 2017 is suing Lincoln County and Wilbur Emergency Medical Services, claiming the man died due to negligent response.

Trenton Edward Frye was involved in a vehicle collision on Aug. 11, 2017 that ejected Frye from his vehicle, but pinned his left shoulder under his car. Both the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office and Wilbur Fire/EMS responded to the accident and extracted Frye from under the vehicle so he could be taken via a Life Flight helicopter to the hospital. However, shortly after being removed from the vehicle, Frye had a heart attack and died.

Frye’s parents, Carla Cook and Mark Frye filed a civil lawsuit on behalf of their son, claiming both Wilbur Fire/EMS and the Sheriff’s Office were negligent in how they removed Frye from the wreckage. They also claim that they were told an autopsy would be done on Frye’s body, but it was not.

Frye’s parents are also suing the driver of the semi truck, claiming he did not call 911 or get out to check on Frye after the collision. The lawsuit has requested the amount of damages be determined at trial.