Officials: Sussex firefighter accused of driving fire engine while drunk

WAUKESHA COUNTY -- An on-duty firefighter is accused of driving a fire engine while drunk. The alleged incident happened on Sunday, May 30th in the Village of Sussex.

The accused is 47-year-old Thomas Gerstner of Sussex. He was arrested by the Wisconsin State Patrol for operating a motor vehicle under the influence, first offense.

Officials say around 12:15 p.m. on Sunday, the State Patrol was requested by the Waukesha County Sheriff's Office to investigate a minor traffic crash between a fire engine and a parked car.

The investigation determined Gerstner, the operator of the fire engine, was under the influence of an intoxicant at the time of the crash. Officials also say Gerstner was operating without a valid driver's license -- which had expired in February.

Gerstner was arrested and taken to the Waukesha County Sheriff's Sub-station -- where he submitted to an intoxilizer test and was later released.