Tuttle
A Columbus firefighter is accused of driving his truck while intoxicated and striking and injuring a bicyclist, then leaving the scene with children in his vehicle, according to the Bartholomew County Sheriff’s Department.
Nick Tuttle, 35, Columbus, who has served as a city firefighter since 2016, was arrested a short time after sheriff’s deputies responded to a 911 call at 2:48 p.m. on March 15 regarding a traffic accident with injury near Hartsville. The accident was reported at the intersection of East County Road 500N and North County Road 1150E.
There they found an injured victim lying next to the roadway who had been riding a bike, the sheriff’s office said in a statement.
The victim, identified as Jeff Campbell of Hope, told deputies that he was riding his bike north on 1150E when a red Chevrolet pickup truck struck him. Campbell said after the collision that the suspect vehicle turned onto East 500N, traveling westbound. Campbell told deputies he may have sustained internal injuries, and he was transported to Columbus Regional Hospital for evaluation, the sheriff’s office said.
Campbell, 65, told The Republic on Thursday that he sustained a broken hip and a broken elbow in the crash and is currently confined to a wheelchair. Campbell said he feels fortunate to have survived the crash, after which he had surgery at CRH and was released two days after he was admitted.
Campbell said his doctors estimated he faces a recovery period of at least six to eight weeks and so far have been reluctant to give him a long-term prognosis.
About an hour after the crash, Sheriff’s Deputy Keven Hatchett was patrolling in the area of State Street and McKinley Avenue in Columbus when he observed a vehicle matching the description of the suspect vehicle. “Hatchett observed that the vehicle was missing its passenger side mirror as well as had black scuffing on the passenger side fender as described by the victim,” according the the sheriff’s office.
Hatchett conducted a traffic stop and identified the driver as Tuttle, deputies said. Tuttle, who is also listed as a fire department paramedic, denied any involvement in the earlier traffic accident, deputies said. During the roadside investigation, Tuttle underwent standard field sobriety tests that developed probable cause for an operating while intoxicated investigation, deputies said.
Tuttle consented to a certified breath test that resulting in a BrAC of 0.11, and after this result, Tuttle was transported to the Bartholomew County Jail on the charges of operating a vehicle while intoxicated – endangerment, a Class A misdemeanor, and leaving the scene of an accident causing moderate to severe bodily injury, Level 6 felony.
Two children who were inside the vehicle at the time of the traffic stop were released to their mother. Tuttle was later released after he was found to be eligible based on the proxy release matrix. This procedure means qualifying defendants may be released from jail without being required to post bond. Tuttle’s bond was set at $12,500, according to jail records.
A preliminary investigation based on the broken vehicle parts left at the scene and the corresponding damage to Tuttle’s vehicle indicates that Tuttle’s vehicle was involved in the earlier collision, deputies said.
Columbus Fire Department spokesman Capt. Mike Wilson said Tuttle is suspended with pay from the fire department at this time. Wilson said the crash and Tuttle’s subsequent arrest occurred while he was off duty.
Wilson said in a statement that the department learned of Tuttle’s arrest the day it occurred and placed him on administrative leave, as required under department policy.
“We hold our firefighters to a standard that exemplifies fire service professionalism, public trust and dedication to public safety while on duty and off duty. This incident will be addressed according to department policy,” Fire Chief Andy Lay said in a statement.
Wilson said the incident is being reviewed by fire department administration and recommendations will be forwarded to City of Columbus Board of Public Works and Safety to determine disciplinary action.
As of Thursday morning, no formal charges had been filed against Tuttle, according to online court records.
Campbell, a retired senior technical adviser for fuel systems from Cummins Inc., praised emergency responders whose response and subsequent investigation he called “just fantastic.”
He and his wife of 45 years, Jeana, said they feel blessed that family had come immediately from Washington State to help care for Campbell during his recovery.
Campbell said he typically rides his bike two to three hours most days, and where he was riding at the time of the crash was a frequent route. He said he had already made plans to travel later this year to the West Coast for a Seattle-to-Vancouver bike ride with family.
“I’m afraid all that’s gone out the window now,” Campbell said.
“It’s just very difficult to say how long recovery is going to take,” he said. “I do plan to get back on the bike at some point. I’m not giving up.”
