La Porte volunteer firefighter suspended after truck crash into home
LA PORTE, Texas (KTRK) -- A volunteer firefighter has been released from a La Porte jail after slamming his pickup truck into a child's bedroom Tuesday night.
Blake Stevens was suspended from duty from the La Porte Fire Department, and said he is going to resign.
Stevens also offered an apology to the family whose home he crashed into, and to any firefighter he said he's embarrassed by the crash.
He stopped short of answering any questions about whether he had been drinking, however.
Authorities received a call about the crash around 10:45 p.m. Tuesday in the 500 block of North Shady Lane.
Witnesses said a vehicle traveling at a high rate of speed jumped a ditch, crashed through a steel fence and into a child's bedroom. The room was vacant when the vehicle plowed into it.
Homeowner Glen Lindblade said the child normally sleeps in his own room but decided to spend the night in his sibling's bedroom.
"There's a truck in my house and there is this guy over here," Lindblade recalled of the late night ordeal. "He's like, you know, looks very, very disoriented."
WATCH: La Porte dad 'blessed' no one hurt after pickup plows into his home
While the crash sent a jolt to his home, Lindblade is relieved that it didn't get worse.
"I'm ecstatic that everybody in my house is OK, which this could have went," Lindblade said. "It could be, you know, my son could be in the hospital."
Witnesses who live on the street say Blake Andrew Stevens was the man behind the wheel and he works for the La Porte Fire Department. They state Stevens told first responders that he was heading to a call.
A resident added the same man has been speeding through the neighborhood for years, nearly hitting multiple kids. That person states the man uses fire calls as the reason for speeding.
Police said a strong alcohol odor was detected at the scene. Stevens reportedly admitted to drinking before the crash, police stated.
The 31-year-old Stevens was arrested and charged with DWI and unlawful carrying of a firearm by a licensed holder. The La Porte Police Department confirmed to Eyewitness News that Stevens is indefinitely suspended from his duties pending the outcome of the case.
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