It was never easy for Justin Frazier, 24, beginning at birth, when his umbilical cord wrapped around his foot and it was amputated when he was a baby, according to his best friend, Walker Perfater.
Despite wearing a prosthesis, Frazier played football and baseball. “He was a hell of a damn athlete,” said Perfater. “This dude could run 100mph. He was the hardest hitter out there. He was a strong dude, and he never worked out.”
Frazier died early January 1 from an accidental fall in the Water Street Garage. He and his brother were downtown and got separated, said Perfater. Frazier was sitting on a ledge on the top level, nodded off and fell, said Perfater.
Police say the time of his death was between midnight and 2am, and they were called at 12:24pm by someone using the garage. Detectives reviewed surveillance video and determined that Frazier was alone and that his death was accidental, said Lieutenant Steve Upman.
The issue of surveillance cameras came before City Council January 5 in the wake of Hannah Graham’s disappearance, in which merchant security cameras showed her with accused abductor Jesse Matthew. Police Chief Tim Longo has long advocated cameras on the Downtown Mall.
The Water Street Garage has about 40 cameras, according to Mark Brown, whose company manages and owns part of the garage. It would be very difficult for something to happen inside the garage and not be captured on camera, he said.
Frazier, a 2008 graduate of Western Albemarle High School, did landscaping work. “When I first met him, I didn’t know he had one leg,” said William Vlasis, owner of Ivy Corner Nursery. “It’s a challenge, the work we do. It’s grueling work. He put out a lot of effort.”
Said Vlasis, “He had a good heart. He was a tough little critter.”
Perfater echoes that, calling his friend tough, big hearted and well mannered.
Frazier lived in Crozet, and has over 3,000 friends on Facebook. Friends held a fundraiser January 3 at Southern Way Café to help pay for his funeral, and by January 5, over $2,800 had been raised on gofund me.com.
“He was always into cars,” said Josh Morris, who has known Frazier since both were at Crozet Elementary School. His favorite memory of Frazier was when they took the Honda Del Sol that belonged to Frazier’s brother, Eric, to Richmond to get it dyno tuned, a high-performance tune-up. “Justin was more excited to go get it done than Eric,” said Morris.
He, Perfater and Frazier shared a passion for Hondas—rebuilding them and racing them. “I don’t know how many cars I built with him,” said Perfater. “He could race a damn car.”
For Frazier’s friends and family, his death from an accidental fall is still a shock. “I felt if he was going to go,” said Perfater, “it would be at 200mph.”
Frazier’s funeral will be held at 11am January 7 at Teague Funeral Home.
This story includes reporting from a previous online article about Justin Frazier’s death.
