Fire Truck Joyride Involved Underage Volunteer, Leesburg Officer

• Updates made at 12:35 p.m. in italics

A Loudoun County fire truck moving at a high rate of speed along Harmony Church Road forced a sheriff’s cruiser into a ditch early Saturday morning, resulting in the arrest of a Hamilton fire station volunteer who was allegedly joyriding with four other volunteers after a night of drinking, according to the Loudoun Sheriff’s Office. All volunteers involved have resigned or have been suspended.

An underage intoxicated female as well as an off-duty police officer with the Leesburg Police Department were reported among the passengers.

A patrol deputy from the Sheriff’s Office driving westbound on Harmony Church Road near Canby Road southwest of Leesburg reported that he veered into a ditch to avoid a collision with the westbound fire truck. Once the deputy learned there were not active fires in the area, he pulled the truck over near Woodburn Road.

Sean Richard Swanson, 27, a volunteer with Hamilton Volunteer Fire Company No. 5, was given a series of field sobriety tests and placed under arrest. Swanson was driving the fire company’s inactive 1989 Pierce Lance pumper truck with four passengers onboard. Deputies transported Swanson to the Adult Detention Center in Leesburg and charged him with a DUI and unauthorized use of a vehicle. He was released in the afternoon on his own recognizance.

Deputies released the other passengers – all off-duty Loudoun fire and rescue volunteers who the Sheriff’s Office and the fire-rescue service reported were intoxicated – to a sober officer with the company following the incident. Deputies released the truck to a supervisor with the Hamilton fire station.

Officer Vincent DiBenedetto, a spokesman for the Sheriff's Office confirmed the involvement of the underage volunteer and the Leesburg officer.

"It was an adult female over the age of 18, but not yet 21," he said about the underage passenger before verifying the officer's involvement. "One of the passengers was a sworn officer with the Leesburg police. [The Leesburg police] have taken appropriate action."

It's unclear what that action was and further questions were referred to the Leesburg Police Department.

According to Lt. Wes Thompson, spokesman for the Leesburg Police Department, the officer involved has been suspended, and the department is investigating the incident internally.

Thompson did not identify the officer.

The volunteers from the Hamilton Volunteer Fire Company have resigned, while two volunteers from other companies have been suspended pending an internal investigation. A press release from fire-rescue services indicated that because the officers were off duty and the vehicle was not currently active, so the ability of firefighters to respond to a fire was not impacted.

“The behavior of these individuals does not represent the values of Loudoun’s fire and rescue service and will not be tolerated by any of our volunteer companies or the department,” according to the release. “This incident involved off-duty personnel and a retired fire engine, so fire and rescue readiness was not jeopardized.”

DiBenedetto also confirmed that the incident involved two supervisors, but said the driver charged with the DUI was not a fire-rescue supervisor.

The Sheriff’s Office continues to investigate and will work with the Commonwealth’s Attorney to consider additional charges.

[Christian Brown contributed to this story.]