Ambulance driver arrested for DUI
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A volunteer ambulance driver has been arrested for driving an ambulance while under the influence of alcohol.
Police say the Payson man's blood-alcohol level was nearly three times the legal limit when he drove the ambulance on a medical run. This news certainly comes as a shock to the Payson Ambulance Department.
The driver has been a volunteer for several years and has undoubtedly helped to save many lives over the years. But police say he endangered lives when he drove an ambulance while under the influence of alcohol.
The volunteer ambulance driver responded to a call to transport a patient from the Payson hospital to another medical facility. He drove from his home to the Payson ambulance garage early Saturday morning. He then drove the ambulance, with two EMTs on board, about a mile to Mountain View Hospital to pick up the patient. That's when the ambulance crew and hospital staff noticed something was wrong with Todd Lindley and believed he might be impaired by alcohol.
Investigators say Lindley was cooperative and voluntarily submitted to field sobriety tests and a Breathalyzer. According to investigators, Lindley's blood-alcohol level was nearly three times the legal limit. Lindley was arrested and booked into jail on suspicion of DUI, while another ambulance driver took over for him.
After his arrest, Lindley was suspended from the ambulance department, and this afternoon resigned.
Lindley responded while he was a backup, apparently believing there was a shortage of ambulance volunteers and his help was needed. We checked jail records, and Lindley has never been arrested before and has no previous history of DUI.
The internal investigation is expected to be finished later this week, and so far, no charges have been filed.
