Deputy Sheriff Fred Fislar was electrocuted after he responded to a single-vehicle accident north of Plainfield.

   As he approached the vehicle to rescue the driver, he came into contact with a downed, live power line. A motorist who witnessed the accident saw Deputy Fislar on the ground and used his radio to contact dispatch.

   He was transported in critical condition to Eskenazi Hospital in Indianapolis where he later died.

   The 20-year-old driver that struck and shattered the utility pole, an undocumented immigrant from Guatemala, was hospitalized in serious condition. He had been released on bond after being charged in early March for operating a vehicle while intoxicated, operating a vehicle without ever receiving a license and minor consuming alcohol.

   As a result of this incident in which he had a blood alcohol concentration of nearly three times the legal limit, he was taken into custody with his bond revoked and charged again with the same offenses. He was later sentenced to 485 days in jail after a bench trial.

   Deputy Sheriff Fislar, from Cloverdale, is survived by his wife, Maddy (née Smith); 6-year-old son, Leo; 6-month-old daughter, Bradley; mother, Shannon (née Burnham) Boswell; four brothers, Brice (Ashley) Robertson, Roger Fislar, James (Kim) Fislar and Jerry (Kay) Fislar; and sister Dori (Corey) Stanton.

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This officer has been approved as an eligible line of duty death by the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund and will be honored during Police Week 2025.