The Montgomery County Fire Department failed to interview key witnesses and record salient facts in its investigation of a high profile crash caused by a former assistant fire chief who had been drinking, according to a report by the county inspector general.
Former Assistant Fire Chief Greg DeHaven was fired after colliding with three cars on Interstate I-270 while driving a county-owned sport utility vehicle. He was coming home from a Washington Redskins game, where he drank numerous beers after leading the fire department’s honor guard in presenting the colors, court records show.
The county has launched several investigations into the crash, and whether there were efforts to cover-up the fact that DeHaven had been drinking. DeHaven was not charged with drunken driving, but had a blood alcohol level that was twice the legal limit three hours after the crash, according to court records.
“I could have probably went to bed for three or four hours and still blown it,” DeHaven told an investigator, in reference to a breathalyzer test, court records show.
Inspector General Thomas Dagley said in a report that the fire department’s policies for investigating accidents involving employee misconduct “resulted in deficiencies and discrepancies” in the fire department’s reports of what happened.
The department hired an outside firm to investigate the case, court records show. Dagley said the investigators failed to interview the first police officer who arrived at the scene, the drivers of two privately owned vehicles involved in the crash, and a fire department honor guard member who spent part of the day of the accident with DeHaven.
The fire department’s accident investigator also failed to document that three people involved in the crash had “minor to moderate” injuries.
Dagley faulted the fire department for decided to limit the expenses of the outside investigator at $5,000, saying the cap led to lapses in the investigation.
The fire department declined to comment, but County Executive Ike Leggett’s spokesman said the county feels that the investigation into DeHaven’s crash was thorough and complete.
“By and large, things worked the way they were supposed to,” spokesman Patrick Lacefield said.
Dagley said he will issue another report after he receives the results of an internal police investigation into how police officers handled the crash. Two county officers are suing the county to prevent the release of the report to Dagley. Police Chief J. Thomas Manger said the report clears his officers of any wrongdoing.
