Renovo Fire Department Chief Charged

The Renovo Fire Department Fire Chief was charged with DUI.

Jimmy Ray Risley, 64, was arrested and charged with driving while intoxicated. Local law enforcement say he was driving a department ambulance at the time.

Renovo Fire Department DUI Incident

Law enforcement says Risley was driving the department ambulance to St. Mary’s Hospital, with a patient in the rig at the time, at approximately 6:40 PM on January 26.

When law endorcement attempted to pull over the ambulance in Gibson Township, police said they observed it cross over the center line twenty-seven times, the white lane ten times, and was in the other lane three times.

The chief, when they pulled him over, is reported to have had bloodshot eyes and look nervous. The report also says the ambulance smelled like alcohol.

In 2020, a Mississippi EMT, Kerstii Groce, claimed she was having seizures and not drunk during a similar incident.