FLAMING HEARSE LEADS TO ARREST.  In Vallejo, California Friday afternoon, a man driving a hearse with an occupied casket inside was involved in a non-injury hit-and-run accident.  Instead of stopping at the wreck he caused, he continued on with his trip to deliver the coffin to a funeral service, driving with a flat front tire that was shooting sparks into the undercarriage of the hearse.

The California Highway Patrol got the call at 2:20 pm and when they caught up with the reluctant chauffer, the hearse was fully involved with fire.  The man had pulled over in time to pull the casket out of the vehicle and drag it away from the burning hearse.

The police arrested him for DUI.

The San Jose Mercury News has the DETAILS.

*  *  *  *  *

A BAYFIELD COUNTY, WISCONSIN, AMBULANCE SPUN out of control on an icy road Friday and rolled over.

The Beacon Ambulance was transporting a patient from one hospital to another when the wreck occurred.  According to the sheriff’s report, the accident took place about 10:15 am when the westbound ambulance spun into the eastbound lane, then slid back across the roadway and rolled over in the westbound ditch.

KQDS-TV

The paramedics – driver Joseph Jacobson, 41, and Alicia Perttula, 25, both of Bessemer – were transported to St. Luke’s hospital in Duluth. The 66-year-old patient was flown to St. Luke’s by Life Link helicopter.

KQDS-TV Ch. 21 has the STORY.

*  *  *  *  *

JUNIOR FIREFIGHTER GOES TO SENIOR JAIL for arson conviction.  Andrew Kildea, 17, of Saddle Brook, New Jersey was vacationing with his family in upstate New York  in early July when he sneaked onto a neighbor’s porch early one morning and started a fire.

Kildea pleaded guilty to arson in the fourth degree on Jan. 6 and would serve a six-month sentence at Warren County, New York, jail. After completing his sentence, Kildea will receive five years probation, which could be transferred to New Jersey.

New Jersey.com reports:

Kildea, who was a junior firefighter for Hook and Ladder Company No. 1 in Saddle Brook, was dismissed from the fire department in early July after the filing of the criminal complaint.

Despite Kildea’s age, Hogan indicated the arson conviction could not be expunged from his record.  “Arson is a red flag,” Hogan said. “There’s no youthful adjudication. That’s a felony conviction on his record.”

Kildea also received a no-contact order with the victim’s family and was required to submit his DNA for a governmental database.

Warren County Sheriff’s officials indicated Kildea set the blaze “with papers” on a porch built around a mobile camper. The fire travelled up the exterior wall of the camper, creating flames and heavy smoke, authorities said. Smoke detectors alerted the occupants of the trailer who were able to get out and extinguish the fire.