Ten-year-old QueMontae Frazier led his his YMCA basketball team to a win Saturday afternoon while his mother, father and three younger siblings cheered him on.
Hours later, the boy and his father were killed in a fiery crash that critically injured the younger children, according to police. Billy Frazier had been speeding, driving recklessly and fled when deputies tried to stop him, the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office said in a Tuesday press conference. Deputies, who didn’t realize there were children in the car, chased Frazier for three miles before his car crashed into a tractor-trailer, igniting his gray Infiniti, Sgt. Jesse Hambrick said.
Frazier, 30, of Atlanta, and his oldest son, who went by the nickname Stanka, died in the Saturday night crash at the intersection of Thornton Road and Riverside Parkway, according to police. Deputies rescued three other children, ages 3, 5 and 6, from the burning vehicle, which slid underneath the tractor-trailer, Hambrick said. None of the children were wearing seat belts, Hambrick said.
Douglas deputies followed an established protocol in the chase, Hambrick said, and likely would’ve broken off had they know about the children. Frazier put other drivers’ lives in jeopardy, as well as his young passengers, when he continued to drive recklessly, Hambrick said.
“He made the decision to initiate the pursuit,” he said. “It was his decision to run with these children in the car.”
Inside the car, investigators found a large quantity of prescription medications, along with cocaine, ecstasy and methamphetamine, Hambrick said. Frazier was also driving on a suspended license and was on probation.
Deputies initially attempted to stop Frazier after he was seen speeding on Thornton Road. Frazier pulled into a QuikTrip on Thornton.
“When the deputy pulled in behind the vehicle, the only occupant that could be seen at that time was the driver,” Hambrick said. But before the deputy could approach the car, Frazier sped away, heading southbound on Thornton Road.
As deputies pursued him, Frazier continued to drive erratically, onto a concrete median and across I-20, according to police. Then the car lost a rear wheel, ran through an intersection and hit the tractor-trailer, Hambrick said. The pursuit and crash were captured on a dashboard camera.
On Tuesday, family and friends grieved the loss of the father and son who died together.
"It's with heavy hearts the Frazier family grieves as they try to comprehend," a relative posted on a Go Fund Me page. "We are asking all of our friends and families for your help and support. Any donations helps and is a true blessing during this difficult time."
Fred Hope Jr., a volunteer at the Andrew Walter Young YMCA in southwest Atlanta, said Frazier was a doting father and always attended his son’s basketball games.
“He was passionate about them kids,” Hope said Tuesday. “He loved all those kids. He had all the kids with him at every game.”
Hope met QueMontae several years ago when he attended the after-school program and summer camp at the YMCA. A fifth-grader at Cascade Elementary School, QueMontae’s athletic talents were already obvious and he was passionate about playing, his coach said.
“He wasn’t just no regular kid,” Hope said. “He came with so much passion and so much zeal about what he was doing.”
Hope was dreading his team’s practice Tuesday night, hoping he could remain positive while facing his young players, some as young as 8. QueMontae was a leader on the team.
“He was so respectful. It hurt me to my heart that he won’t be at practice anymore,” Hope said. “He gave the energy that’s going to always be in the gym.”
Funeral arrangements for the father and son had not been finalized late Tuesday. The crash remains under investigation, the Georgia State Patrol said.
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