Andrew Frye’s overdose death made headlines around the nation — the 16-year-old was discovered doing heroin with his mother and grandmother in a motel room at the Super 8 in Green in April of 2016.
More than two years later, the pain is still raw for his great-aunt, Tammy Smith, who raised the teen.
“I miss his laugh, his face,” Smith said. “Not a day goes by that I don’t think of him.”
Smith recently filed a lawsuit against the Super 8, as well as Frye’s mother and grandmother and others involved in his death. A total of four people, including his mother and grandmother, are currently serving time behind bars for their involvement.
“Hopefully from this tragedy, it saves someone else,” Smith said.
The death also prompted Green city leaders to make a change.
The Super 8 was labeled a nuisance property, and for the last year, property managers have been working with the city to improve it.
“When we declare them a nuisance, and we ask them to come speak with us, that’s not just a suggestion. That’s an indication that we will shut down the business if they don’t come work with us to improve,” said city of Green Mayor Gerard Neugebauer.
Neugebauer said the motel’s policy changes resulted in a decrease in serious calls for service in 2017 and, so far, in 2018. In 2015, the Summit County Sheriff’s Office was called to the Super 8 a total of 37 times. In 2016, deputies responded 96 times. Many of the calls were drug or overdose-related.
Some of the policy changes include a sheriff’s deputy on the premises and inside the lobby, more thorough background checks of employees, additional security cameras and even raising the motel’s rates.
“They were actually more profitable when they raised their rates because they created a better environment,” Neugebauer explained. He said it made the motel a more legitimate place to stay, rather than being seen as a place to party.
The goal is now to work with other hotels and motels that police have seen as hubs for criminal or drug activity.
The heat map below shows overdose hotspots in Green right along the Interstate 77 corridor.
