— by Lin McNulty —
It’s the middle of the night, you’ve just left a party where you have been drinking, and all of a sudden you find you and your vehicle off the roadway. The airbags have been deployed and there is considerable damage to the vehicle you have borrowed for the evening. Due to the hour, there may or may not be a deputy on duty.
You don’t appear to be injured. A co-worker, who has also just left the party, comes along and offers to tow you out of the ditch, increasing the chance that you can avoid discovery, a police investigation, a breathalyzer test, and a possible arrest.
What would you do? You are a public employee; does that make a difference in your decision process? Would you be more, or less, inclined to leave the scene of the accident? Are you to be held to a higher standard because of your employment?
This appears to be what happened on March 8, 2013 to an employee of Orcas Fire and Rescue. Faced with this situation, the driver and his co-worker opted to remove the car; however, they needed a chain. They knew where the chains were located back at the fire station so they went to retrieve a chain (publicly-owned property) and pull the car out of the ditch. The wrecked car was, if not driveable then at least towed to the back parking lot of the fire station. From there, the original driver obtained another vehicle and drove home.
Phew! You might say. That was close.
You don’t, however, man-up and tell the owner of the vehicle, an on-duty paramedic, that you just wrecked his car. You don’t call the police.
When Assistant Chief Mik Preysz is eventually notified of the accident by the accomplice, he comes to the station and places a call to 911 to report the accident. Because the on-duty deputy is already home for the night, and because the vehicle has already left the scene, Deputy Crowe decdes to wait until daylight to do an investigation.
The next morning, the driver of the vehicle is questioned at the fire station by Deputy Johns and he gives a statement that he was sleepy and swerved to miss a deer. Pictures are taken of the accident scene (where a piece of bumper belonging to the car is located), and pictures are taken of the vehicle. A report is filled out and the case is closed—no charges filed against the driver.
The island rumor mill eventually takes hold and in October, Fire Chief Kevin O’Brien gives the following statement at a regularly-scheduled meeting of the Board of Fire Commissioners and reported by Orcas Issues:
Vehicle Accident
Over six months ago, I hosted a private barbeque dinner for my family and friends. After I had turned in for the night, I learned that one person had a minor accident after the individual had left my home. Fortunately, no one was hurt and no public property was damaged. The San Juan County Sheriff’s Department was promptly notified of this incident, and I determined that no official action was needed by the Fire Department.
In October, following a Public Records Request from Orcas Issues, the investigation was re-opened by Undersheriff Bruce Distler. On October 26, the Undersheriff conducted an interview with the driver in which the vehicle operator explained that “the defroster must have ‘kicked in’ causing a change in the visibility through the windshield and he swerved and came to rest on the side of the road.”
On November 12, Distler again had a conversation with the driver and questioned the original story about swerving to miss a deer. According to Distler’s follow-up report, the driver “looked confused and could not provide an answer.” Distler also asked again about the defroster problem to which the driver replied “the defroster was working well, blowing warm air into his face, and he believed he got tried (sic) and may have dozed off.”
On January 9, 2014, the driver, Jack Robert Delisle, was issued a citation charging Negligent Driving in the Second Degree, with a fine of $550. Although Delisle originally opted to contest the infraction and requested a court date to defend against the charges, he has since plead guilty to Negligent Driving.
It could just as easily been any number of us. Although we would not have had access to the publicly-owned chain used to remove the vehicle, we might have had other resources available. Does the fact that Delisle is a public employee mean that he should be held to a higher standard, even though he’s not elected, even though he was “off-duty?”
What would you do?
Does the law require that you report an accident ? So now we have people that are
part of an emergency response agency and know the rules but decide to find another solution to their problems and then the Assistant Fire Chief gets involved and calls dispatch but does not give detailed information when asked if this could be a suspected DUI but asked that the on duty Sargent calls him at the Fire Station ?
And where was the Chief’s role in all this ?
Very wise.
This is no simple live and forget situation. This is an example of how a Fire Department sought to continue it’s inclusive hiring practices by hiring someone who WE thought would continue the practice of inclusion. Unfortunately we rehired the son of the old school. The buck stops with the Boss. It is not the fault of the commissioners or those who voted within the department. We hired a history. We knew what we were doing. We hired an islander. We hired an insider that fought all his life to come back to Orcas to make his mark. Shame on us to think anything could change. I had so much hope after the last 10 years. Shame on all of us to forget how we shamefaced the last individual who was offered a $100,000.00 salary. Now we support a Chief/Senior officers who expect us to raise our taxes to support something just a few years ago we shamed good people on this island to quit their jobs over? So much for hiring our own…
Your editorial reeks of innuendo. You suggest, without proof, that one fireman was drunk driving while another was trying to cover it up. This use of the pulpit just isn’t right. If you have a problem with the upcoming levy passing, argue your position with facts, not innuendo.
Please read the police reports Bill. If you do, as Lin has clearly done, there is no innuendo. Just facts.
It is ludicrous that it took 9 months to finally get a resolution requiring a $550 fine after two police reports, changes in testimony by the driver and a statement by the Chief that is was a minor accident. There apparently was significant damage to the vehicle owned by another party. No one is saying this should affect your vote on the levy. What is being said is that the Orcas Fire Department and Sheriff’s office handled the incident by a Fire District member poorly. There is no innuendo here.
On it’s own, this incident doesn’t make or break the levy. So bad stuff happened and some extremely poor decisions were made. But when it is put together with many of the decisions that have been coming out of the FD administration lately it does cause concern. I think I am seeing a pattern of window dressing the facts and the audacity to believe we do not want to see behind the curtain. When it comes to the accident, I am not shocked that an individual attempted to cover his tracks but I am shocked that the administration did not uphold their own policies (assumed policies)in dealing with it. Then to chide the public for inquiring! We are being told that more money is needed to handle the increasing volume of calls. Really? Considering the existing levy was building infrastructure which is now in place are we really to believe that maintaining that and all the people really requires that much. Please show us were you are maximizing all possible efficiencies. I suspect that you have grown fat and would like to be maintained in the life style to which you have become accustomed to. I don’t believe that increase is directly proportional to increased cost. Some things like increased fuel costs, etc. are a given, but much of what is used in fire and ems has a par amount whether it is used or not. It seems to me that the budget and sheer number of people involved to handle the calls and the people handling the calls reads more like a small city with a much higher call volume. Lastly, when I read about the “luxury” items bought with tax payer money, well frankly it is just insulting. Shame on us if we allow that to continue. I do not blame the commissioners who volunteer their time and have to go on what they are told. I would however like to see them hold their administration to task and peel back those curtains. I don’t think this administration is ready for more money. Manage your money and your people then let’s talk.
The Orcas Fire Department does a lot of good for this community.
Every day they respond to calls to save lives, save property and help others. Maybe some of you could take a page from that book and be supportive rather than so critical.
Kudos to those who have the courage to call out those involved in the cover up. Public employees are not above or outside the law. In fact, shouldn’t they be setting a good example for the rest of us by upholding the law? Shame on those who were involved, I hope you find other employment with far less consequence.
I have read the report Louise, there is no mention that the firemen were drunk. What I know is that our chief had a welcome celebration at his HOME for a new employee, alcohol and food were served. Several times a week I walk the intersection where this incident occurred, there are LOTS of deer in the area. I don’t know a finer list of citizens than those mentioned in the police reports. This whole matter seems to live up to an adage an old island friend of mine often said, “On Orcas Island, no good deed will go unpunished”.
It is clear that there are inconsistencies in the stories and while there is no outright proof that the driver was drunk, there is reason to believe that he may have been impaired at the time of the accident. Only a proper assessment of the driver would have yielded the true result. The driver has been charged and is guilty of a crime. That part has been dealt with and to the satisfaction of the courts, is resolved.
The part that seems to be at issue is “did others involved act in a proper manner, and if not, did their actions rise to the level of a professional or legal violation?”
This is not a question that a blog or a media outlet can or should determine. It is also not a question that should be investigated by any entity that has had involvement in the issue at question. Now is the time for our elected commissioners and elected sherriff to do their duty and ask for an independent investigation into this issue. The only way to end all of the “innuendo” is to allow the totality of the facts to be brought forth by a disinterested party and presented to the public in an organized and clear manner. At worst an investigation yields bad actions on the part of those involved, at best it yields that there was no misguided behavior on the part of those involved. But for sure it gives everyone involved a chance to hear and understand the facts and move forward and make reasonable, fact based decisions.
Until we have a full presentation of the facts, rumor and innuendo will continue to fly. Lets bring this to resolution for the sake of everyone involved.
I thought that the report said that the driver called back to someone at the Chief’s house for help. The person who answered and arrived to assist the driver reportedly conducted an exam (on duty? off-duty?) and concluded that the driver did not need further medical attention. Therefore there was no reason for the driver to leave the scene to get medical aid. Where is the record of this medical evaluation? Aren’t EMTs required to create a record of such events? If the person who arrived to assist was impaired and not able to conduct an assessment, then should an EMT on duty have been called to do an assessment? In any case, why was the sheriff not called immediately? If the vehicle was indeed totalled, how could that not require a report from the accident scene? The call that was ultimately made was not a timely accident report. It was a request that the deputy return the call when he got in. The call was apparently made after the accident scene had been dismantled.
I agree that the department provides valuable services. I also think that these questions need to be answered.
I don’t see any wrongdoing. A vehicle went into the ditch. It was a minor accident. There are a lot of deep ditches on Orcas that could damage the steering or radiator, making a vehicle undriveable after a minor accident. Was it totaled? It doesn’t take much damage these days to “total” a vehicle. There was no apparent injury that night: the first person to arrive on the accident scene was a highly trained firefighter/EMT. There was no blatant or serious disregard of procedure. There’s no evidence of DUI. No evidence of cover up.
The bottom line is that OIFR and its underpaid volunteers finally have high morale, because the new administration, staff, facilities and equipment are top notch. Cardiac and stroke “saves” are the among the highest in the nation. Fire “saves” are exemplary (witness Olga Artworks and Deer Harbor Marina). Orcas has a fire and rescue department that is cutting edge, at the top of its game.
“There was no apparent injury that night: the first person to arrive on the accident scene was a highly trained firefighter/EMT.” If so, is there an incident report that includes medical review results? And why no call to the sheriff? Are these not protocol? What is the threshold for calling the sheriff?
We all agree that the staff do a great job. Many people seem to be concerned about compliance issues. Seems worthwhile to answer the questions and put this to rest.
Single vehicle accident with no injury? This is not a case for the Spanish Inquisition!
What would you do? Pull the vehicle out of the ditch and drive or tow it somewhere!
The first person to arrive on scene was not on duty, but was well qualified to assess non-injury and help tow the vehicle. The only requirement here was to report the accident within four days. That was done (actually within a couple hours). That should be the end of the story.
Except they did borrow a tow chain from the department. Is that a violation of public trust?
I’ve been curious about Louise Martin and Don North, I’d never heard of either and no one I asked knew of them. I looked in the phone book, not there. I reached out to the county Voter Registration, for $30 they will email you all of the registered voters in the county. Neither Louise Martin or Don North are registered to vote in our county. Louise, Don, give me a call to verify that you exist – 376-6095 ext. 101.
Hi Bill, we had the same questions about Louise Martin and Don North, as well as Vicki Leimback, whom we’d never heard of before. All three got in touch with us and verified their existence and their residence, part-time in one case — on Orcas Island. We regularly do this with unfamiliar names and most, but not all, people get back to us. We withhold publication in the cases where they don’t.
Margie Doyle, Editor
This story is upsetting. Two of my good friends were killed by drunks. One was my best friend. If there was a case of drunk driving here, the person should man up and accept responsibility.
If folks hid the man’s address, redirected the investigation, mis-informed or withheld info from the investigation, they should provide the facts and take responsibility. Please be honest, if you haven’t been. I expect any confessions are met with understanding, kindness and discipline, not tactic encouragement.
If the Chief wants my respect, he’ll never allow anyone to leave his party with even the vaguest notion of being suspected of being impaired. It is far too easy, and in this case, a kind soul actually offered the person she felt was talking like they were impaired a ride.
Its easy to just toss your keys in the basket and have a sober person hand them out to sober people leaving, or have a designated driver, or sleep over. There is absolutely no excuse for someone to be drunk and driving. One second of inattention and you or a loved one, or neighbor could be killed.
I’m not a judge or investigator. I don’t want drunks on the road. To the men and women of the Sheriff’s department that work to keep drunks off the road: Thank you. To the fine men and women of the amazing and wonderful Volunteer Fire Department, Thank you!
Bless our little community and its peaceful, safe world.