Police: Pa. fire chief drove ambulance while intoxicated with a patient inside

Renovo Fire Department Chief Jimmy Ray Risley has been arrested


By Leila Merrill

CAMERON COUNTY, Pa. — Renovo Fire Department Chief Jimmy Ray Risley, 64, was arrested and charged with driving while intoxicated. Police said he was driving a department ambulance at the time, WTAJ reported.

A patient was in the rig, which was en route to a hospital.

Photo/Renovo Fire Department

Police said that they saw the ambulance cross a street’s center line 27 times and that the chief, when they pulled him over, had bloodshot eyes and looked nervous. They also said the rig smelled like alcohol.  

A formal arraignment is scheduled for March 22.

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