Fire Law Blog Fire Service and Public Safety Legal Issues Blog by Curt Varone
A Dayville firefighter was in court today facing two charges following an apparatus accident in June that left a civilian vehicle damaged.
Todd Wakefield is facing charges of unsafe passage and evading responsibility. According to Norwich Bulletin, the fire truck he was driving to an incident damaged the mirror of a stopped vehicle on June 27, 2017. Wakefield neither stopped nor reported the incident to dispatch, but simply continued on to the scene.
The vehicle’s owner reported the accident to the Connecticut State Police, who started an investigation. The Bulletin quoted police sources as saying Wakefield “attempted to mislead troopers in this investigation by stating that there was oncoming traffic and that the other vehicle failed to pull over and had continued driving, which both were proven to be false.”
In Danielson Superior Court today, Wakefield’s lawyer, Christian Sarantopoulos, told the judge that restitution had been made for the damaged mirror. That case and an earlier case that did not involve the fire department were continued until August.
