DUI charge dismissed; firefighter fined $50

3/13/2013

A drunken-driving charge was dismissed Tuesday in Toledo Municipal Court against a veteran Toledo firefighter.

Todd Steele, 44, pleaded no contest to reckless operation for a Jan. 14 incident and was ordered to pay a $50 fine and court costs by Judge William Connelly, Jr. The judge said the prosecutor asked that a charge of operating a vehicle while intoxicated be dismissed for evidentiary reasons.

Police said Mr. Steele, a 17-year firefighter with the city, was eastbound on Sylvania Avenue when he lost control at Phillips Avenue, struck a flagpole, a stone monument, a fire hydrant, and a traffic-control box.