NEW: The university's board of visitors has put President William J. Frawley on paid leave until further notice in the wake of his two DUI charges this week. The decision was unanimous.
UMW Rector Bill Poole said Frawley was in Mary Washington Hospital’s intensive care unit this afternoon. He said at a news conference that he didn’t know the details of Frawley’s injuries.
“The tragedy of all this is he’s such a brilliant man and so capable,” Poole told The Free Lance–Star.
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Click here to read the full statement from the board.
The president of the University of Mary Washington also faces a charge of
drunken driving in Fairfax County stemming from an accident there Tuesday
afternoon, Fairfax police said today.
William J. Frawley, 53, was charged yesterday with drunken driving and
refusing a Breathalyzer test in Fredericksburg, city police said. Both are
misdemeanors.
Fairfax County police spokeswoman Camille Neville said today that there is
an outstanding warrant for Frawley in Fairfax on a DUI charge from Tuesday.
Mary Washington officials released a statement yesterday saying that
Frawley, who took over as Mary Washington president in July, had been in a
wreck Tuesday in Northern Virginia.
The single-vehicle wreck was at 12:30 p.m. in the 8700 block of Georgetown
Pike in Fairfax County, Neville said. That’s near the Great Falls National
Park.
Neville said a 2006 Toyota Avalon driven by Frawley ran off the road and
overturned. She said officers at the scene “had probable cause” to believe
Frawley was intoxicated. A DUI warrant was issued. Neville did not release
specific evidence about what constituted the probable cause.
Frawley was taken by ambulance to Inova Fairfax Hospital, Neville said. He
has not yet been served with the warrant in Fairfax. The Avalon ended up on
its roof and was towed to a storage lot.
Neville said the police report makes no mention of anyone else being in the
Avalon when it flipped.
Mary Washington university officials said Frawley left Inova Fairfax early
yesterday morning against advice. He was arrested about 2 p.m. yesterday at
Brompton, the official residence of the Mary Washington president.
It’s unclear exactly how Frawley got between Inova Fairfax and
Fredericksburg.
About 1:45 p.m. yesterday, a woman called the 911 center in Fredericksburg
to report she was driving behind a green Toyota Camry on the Chatham Bridge.
She reported that the Camry was missing its right front tire and was
traveling on that rim, said Fredericksburg police spokeswoman Natatia
Bledsoe.
The woman also reported that the Camry had swerved into incoming traffic,
Bledsoe said.
City police began following the Camry at the intersection of Amelia and
Princess Anne streets. They activated their lights and followed slowly
behind to Brompton.
The officer drew his weapon until it was clear that Frawley did not pose a threat, Bledsoe said. She said the weapon was drawn because the officer was alone at the time and because of the "suspicious nature of the driver's behavior." She said that's standard procedure for that type of stop.
Frawley's forehead was bleeding, and Bledsoe said “his behavior indicated that he was impaired.”
At first Frawley did not respond to police orders to exit the vehicle and put his hands on his hood, Bledsoe said. He had trouble standing and walking on his own, she said.
"He appeared dazed and confused and had difficulty responding verbally to questions," Bledsoe said in an e-mail.
She said police did not ask him to perform a field sobriety test because
they believed Frawley’s condition made it unsafe for him to do so.
Bledsoe said Frawley had suffered the head injury before his arrest in
Fredericksburg.
Bledsoe today addressed the possibility that Frawley’s behavior may have
been due to medication he got after the Fairfax accident or after-effects
from the head injury.
She acknowledged that there are a number of different circumstances that
could have caused the impairment. She said police are not sure exactly how
he was impaired. She said a Breathalyzer test could have helped detect
whether alcohol was involved, but she said Frawley refused to take the test.
Bledsoe said that police in the area received only one 911 call about the
Camry driving on three wheels. She said that suggests that perhaps the car
wasn’t on the road for very long driving on just three wheels.
The Camry was left in Frawley’s driveway after the arrest, Bledsoe said.
Other than the missing wheel, it did not appear damaged.
An ambulance was called to Brompton to assist Frawley, but Bledsoe said he
declined medical treatment. He later agreed to go to Mary Washington
Hospital, where he was admitted last night.
Frawley is free on a personal recognizance bond. Mary Washington university
officials have told city police that Frawley remained at the hospital this
morning.
A top Mary Washington university official said there must be an explanation
for the incident in Fredericksburg.
"It just is so out of character," board of visitors member Mona Albertine
said yesterday.
-Bill Freehling and Jeff Branscome, The Free Lance-Star
Copyright 2012 The Free Lance-Star Publishing Company.