ELYRIA — A LaGrange Township man whose driving privileges were revoked for the rest of his life after he was convicted of killing a 2-year-old boy in a 1992 drunken-driving accident had a valid Ohio driver’s license when he was picked up on a new DUI charge in June.

Despite having a license, Ned Fleck Jr., 53, shouldn’t have been behind the wheel of any vehicle when he allegedly crashed his 1970 Chevy C-10 pickup into a ditch near his Biggs Road home around 3:30 p.m. on June 8, Elyria City Prosecutor Scott Strait said.

When the Ohio Highway Patrol arrived about 10 minutes after receiving a call about that crash, troopers learned that Fleck had gone back to his house and was refusing to come out and receive medical treatment for a gash on the back of his head, Strait said.

Fleck eventually was coaxed out of the house by his daughters, Strait said, but was combative and allegedly threatened medical personnel and a trooper, actions that could lead to additional charges.

He was ultimately strapped down to a gurney and taken to a hospital. Fleck was later flown by helicopter to MetroHealth Medical Center in Cleveland where several staples were used to close the wound on his head, Strait said.

Although authorities are still awaiting the results of a blood test to determine if he was intoxicated, several witnesses reported that Fleck smelled of alcohol and appeared drunk at the scene of the June crash, Strait said.

At the time, however, no one realized Fleck wasn’t supposed to be driving, Strait said, because a check of his driving record indicated that he had a valid license.

It wasn’t until prosecutors began preparing the case against Fleck on DUI and failure-to-control charges that they looked at his criminal record and realized that former Lorain County Common Pleas Judge Thomas Janas had imposed a lifetime driving ban on Fleck following a 1994 trial.

Although Fleck was cleared during that trial of more serious aggravated vehicular homicide and involuntary manslaughter charges in connection with the Sept. 14, 1992, death of 2-year-old Jay Morrison, he was convicted of vehicular homicide, DUI, reckless operation and speeding.

Jay was struck and killed by Fleck’s motorcycle when the boy ran into East River Road to retrieve a juice box he had dropped while crossing the street with family members. Fleck, who admitted to drinking before the accident, had a blood alcohol level of 0.127, above the then-legal driving limit of 0.10.

At the time of the 1992 crash, Fleck already had three prior DUI convictions, state records show.

Janas gave Fleck an 18-month prison sentence and suspended his driver’s license for 10 years for one of the charges and revoked it permanently on another charge, according to court records.

In 1996, Fleck’s lawyer, Jack Bradley, asked Janas to given his client occupational driving privileges, a request Janas denied.

“Since imposition of sentence herein the definition of permanent has not changed,” Janas wrote in his decision. “Permanent means permanent. Motion to restore driving privileges is denied.”

Bradley did not return a call seeking comment, but according to court records, the Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles was notified of both the 10-year suspension, which expired in 2004, and the lifetime revocation after the 1994 trial.

Lindsey Bohrer, spokeswoman for the BMV said the agency has no record of the lifetime driving ban.

“There is nothing in our system that indicates the individual is suspended for life,” she said.

But Strait said even if the BMV didn’t know about the suspension, Fleck certainly did because he tried and failed to get it lifted in 1996.

“He obviously had notice,” he said.

Strait said that he isn’t certain exactly when Fleck got his driver’s license back, but BMV records indicate he received speeding tickets in Avon in 2004 and North Ridgeville in 2007. He was convicted of running a stop sign in Berea Municipal Court earlier this year and was also involved in an accident in Medina County in 2009, the records showed.

Those incidents wouldn’t have brought the level of scrutiny to Fleck’s driving record that the DUI case did, Strait said.

And not having a driver’s license again — it was automatically suspended when Fleck refused to take a breath test when he was arrested in June — hasn’t stopped him from driving, Strait said.

Court records show that LaGrange police arrested Fleck on Sept. 3 for driving under suspension and not having a valid license.

He’s pleaded not guilty in both that case and in the June DUI case.

Contact Brad Dicken at 329-7147 or bdicken@chroniclet.com.

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