A veteran Dayton airport firefighter accused on a charge of driving under the influence late Saturday remains on the job and had his first court appearance Tuesday.
Zachary Avila, 42, was taken into custody by Montgomery County Sheriff’s deputies after he was pulled over on suspicion of speeding on state Route 4 near Hemple Road and he refused to submit to a field sobriety test, deputies wrote in an incident report filed Sunday morning.
“I explained to him that I believed he was driving while impaired and asked him again to step out of the vehicle and submit to the test, which he refused to do,” one of the deputies wrote in the report.
Avila pleaded not guilty to an OVI charge in Montgomery County court Tuesday morning and is no longer in custody.
Avila told deputies he was bringing home children from Chaminade Julienne High School’s homecoming when he was pulled over about 11:20 p.m. Saturday.
Deputies said Avila’s face was flush, his eyes were bloodshot and his speech was slurred.
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“I could also smell a strong odor of an alcoholic beverage on his breath,” one of the deputies wrote in the report.
A city of Dayton human resources worker said Avila has been with the Dayton International Airport Fire Department since 1999 and is an active employee.
According to the report, Avila called his brother to come and get the children, whose ages were not immediately known.
“Zachary [Avila] then rolled up his window and continued to talk to his brother, however I could still hear the conversation and he told his brother he had been drinking and he was getting arrested,” the report read.
Deputies seized the firefighter’s driver’s license, according to the report.
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