Irene Spezzamonte
Staten Island Advance, N.Y.
NEW YORK — Police arrested and charged a New York City firefighter after he allegedly crashed and abandoned and FDNY van in Westerleigh on Friday night.
Police charged Robert Diaz, 42, with driving while intoxicated, driving while ability impaired and refusal to take breath test, according to a written statement from the NYPD’s Deputy Commissioner of Public Information.
Diaz allegedly abandoned the van from the FDNY’s Fire Education Safety Unit near the intersection of College and Clinton B. Fiske avenues around 7:40 p.m., police said.
A group of residents in the area, who called 911, said they saw the man fleeing the van dressed in a black hoodie.
Blocks away, near the intersection of College Avenue and Delaware Place, two tow trucks were dealing with damaged vehicles the man had allegedly left behind.
A woman who lives near that scene said an FDNY van careened into multiple cars and a dumpster on that block, severely damaging its front axel before fleeing the scene. The recovered van had a damaged front axel.
A lawyer was not immediately listed for Diaz Saturday morning.
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