Teenagers injured in suspected hit-and-run

An early morning hit-and-run on Jan. 18 sent three Fallon residents to the hospital after an alleged drunk driving collision.

Ryan Wesley Frehse, 26, of Fallon was allegedly intoxicated while driving and hit Kyndal Czichotzki, 18, of Fallon and an unnamed 17-year-old passenger at the intersection of Williams Avenue and Sherman Street at 3:16 a.m., according to Fallon Police Capt. Ron Wenger.

Wenger said Frehse’s black 2005 Ford pick-up truck ran a stop sign and T-boned Czichotzki’s white 2000 Chevy Impala, which resulted in several injuries.

Frehse, however, allegedly fled the scene and Churchill County Sheriff’s deputies arrested him soon after the collision. Wenger said deputies found Frehse and his truck in a ditch after he ran through a barbed-wire fence near Crook Road and Williams Avenue.

According to Wenger, Frehse’s front license plate was left at the original scene, which lead authorities to the identity of the driver.

“Alcohol was a factor,” Wenger said.

Czichotzki, a senior at Churchill County High School, and her passenger suffered facial cuts from the windshield glass. The 17-year-old was extricated from the vehicle by the Churchill County/Fallon Fire Department, and was treated and released from Banner Churchill Community Hospital.

Wenger said the front and side air bags were deployed as a result of the collison.

Frehse, meanwhile, was transported to Reno’s Renown Regional Medical Center and treated for his injuries, which were not known, Wenger said.

Police cited Frehse for DUI causing injury and leaving the scene of an accident. Wenger said an additional charge of running a stop sign would be added.

The case has been turned over to the Churchill County District Attorney’s Office.