Just weeks before his term was up, the chief of the Smithtown Fire Department was suspended after being involved in an accident.
Chief Steven Sisino, 54, was behind the wheel of the chief's vehicle when he struck a utility pole in Bay Shore on March 12. He then drove off from the scene.
The suspension is routine, Fire Commissioner Thomas Buffa told Newsday.com.
Around the same time the accident happened, police were notified of erratic driving involving the chiefs vehicle.
Sisino flagged down a Suffolk County police officer in nearby Brentwood and reported the crash.
He "dropped the cellphone, reached for the cellphone, hit a pothole and lost control of the car," Buffa said. "That's what we were told."
Sisino, who works as a corrections officer, passed a field sobriety test.
Police drove the chief home due to damage the vehicle sustained.
