New York Firefighter Allegedly Took Drunken Joy Ride

An intoxicated volunteer Fort Montgomery firefighter took his station's Ford F-250 for a joy ride early this morning and crashed it into a telephone pole.

April 28, 2008

FORT MONTGOMERY, N.Y. -- An intoxicated volunteer Fort Montgomery firefighter took his station's truck for a joy ride early this morning and crashed it into a telephone pole nearby, according to initial police reports.

Fire Chief Seth Armstrong got a phone call shortly before 2 a.m. today from one of his rookie volunteers, 23-year-old Matthew Maass of Fort Montgomery.

Maass told his chief he'd been in a fight, but when Armstrong met him at the station, he spotted a banged-up Maass and a banged-up fire truck. Armstrong pressed Maass for answers, and said the story eventually came out.

Town of Highlands police said Maass drove off in the station's '97 Ford F-250, which was primarily used for mountain rescues, sometime after midnight. He wrecked the truck around 1:30 a.m., police said, at the nearby intersection of Canterbury and Weyant Road.

Maass' charges include felony driving while intoxicated, grand larceny and criminal mischief. He was released today, due back in town court May 7.

Republished with permission of The Times Herald-Record.