Bennington Police Chief and Public Safety Director Paul Doucette said Monday he was "embarrassed" by the actions of Chad Prentiss, a longtime member of the fire department.
"It's unfortunate. Assistant Fire Chief Chad Prentiss spends a lot of volunteer time working with the Bennington Fire Department, but his actions are deplorable and it's not going to be tolerated," Doucette said.
Police received a call Friday around 9:20 p.m. for a crash on Gage Street. The vehicle involved left the scene, however.
"The vehicle that was involved, described as a pickup truck, left the scene prior to police getting there. When the officers arrived they could see where a vehicle had crashed into a utility pole," Doucette said. "The front tire from the vehicle was actually in the street and the officers were able to find evidence of gouges and scrapes in the roadway where whomever crashed had left the scene of the crash and drove away. They followed the gouges and the scrapes in the road for 0.7 miles to a residence on Webb Street where they located the vehicle.
Doucette said police found the green 2001 Chevrolet pickup there with a "Bennington Fire" decal across the back. Prentiss was located and admitted his involvement in the crash, according to Doucette.
This article will be updated.
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