Volunteer firefighter accused of driving drunk, slamming truck into transformer box, bar
WEST BEND -- A volunteer firefighter was arrested Sunday night after police say he drove his truck into a transformer and then struck a bar, knocking out power to hundreds and shutting down a local lights festival. Police say he was drunk at the time.
Bradley Enright, 47, is a firefighter with the Boltonville Volunteer Fire Department according to Chief Ken Ramthun. Rally Time Sports Bar & Grill in West Bend suffered what's likely to be thousands of dollars worth of damage as a result of the crash.
John Reichardt
"All of the sudden, the power went out," said John Reichardt, who is a cook at Rally Time.
Reichardt said he knows the patrons at the bar come in quickly, but not as quickly as Sunday night.
"It sounded like an earthquake!" Reichardt said.
Cindy Festge, the Rally Time owner, had just left -- when she got a call from one of her employees saying a car was inside the bar.
Cindy Festge
Driver strikes transformer box, bar in West Bend (PHOTO: Amanda H.)
Rally Time
Driver strikes transformer box, bar in West Bend (PHOTO: Amanda H.)
"There were absolutely no lights. It was pitch black, so it was very difficult to see and get an idea of what was going on," Festge said.
West Bend police said when Enright rammed his truck through the We Energies transformer, knocking out power to 383 customers, including a light show called Enchantment in the Park. It had to shut down early.
Despite the mess, the bar owners will host their grand opening celebrations this coming weekend, like they planned to do all along. The owner said she and her husband are staying positive despite the unexpected incident.
"Yeah, there's been some wrinkles but what are you going to do? We're still going to proceed. We're not going anywhere. We want to make the best of what we got," Festge said.
Boltonville Fire Department
On Monday, the Boltonville fire chief confirmed to FOX6 News the driver, Bradley Enright, is one of their volunteers. The chief said over the phone, "we're studying what happened, and no action has been taken until we get the facts together."
Rally Time
Rally Time
Rally Time
Enright has been placed on administrative leave according to the chief.
Employees at the bar said they're thankful this happened when there were no customers around; the spot where the truck came in was packed with people just the night before.
Police said Enright blew a .15 at the scene and failed field sobriety tests.
There were no injuries.