Woman says firefighter was given special treatment after he ran his car into her home

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    Dupo, IL (KMOV) — A blue tarp is all that’s covering Kirsten Tilley’s home after she said a car slammed into it Monday night.

“It sounded like an explosion, it rattled my whole house,” she said.

News 4 learned the car was driven by an off-duty Dupo firefighter.

At the scene, Tilley said the firefighter opted out of calling 911 and instead said he wanted to call some police officers that he knew personally.

She said she found it odd when police wouldn’t issue him a citation or give her his insurance information.

“I never got a policy number, and the officers handed me a card with the police report number and I said I still don’t have his name or his insurance information, I need this. They said, ‘oh we know him, he’s an off-duty firefighter, he’s a real good guy.’ He said if he’s got insurance he’s good for his word,” Tilley said.

News 4 reached out to Dupo Police Chief Kevin Smith who said his officers conducted an investigation and because the driver didn’t appear under the influence they decided to only take a report and not issue a citation.

The police report points out that the driver’s gas pedal got stuck causing the car to accelerate. It goes on to state the driver tried putting the brakes on.

The chief said his officers would have treated this case the same if the driver was a regular civilian.

“It’s pretty aggravating,” Tilley said.

But for Tilley, who said her insurance company reported the firefighter’s insurance came back invalid, makes her feel like he got special treatment.

“The fact that he walked away without any citations, he didn’t get a sobriety test at the scene and failed to provide insurance and still went home that night, it just blows my mind,” she said.

News 4 did reach out to the firefighter. A family member told us they didn’t want to comment.

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