BRISTOL, Vt. (AP) – Two volunteer firefighters have been suspended for a year for leaving the scene of an accident in which a woman later died.

Neither was on-duty or driving when the tow truck in which they were riding was involved in a crash on U.S. 7 in Waltham on Nov. 23.

Travis Greene and John B. Sargent Jr., both 32, were told of the decision by the town volunteer fire department’s prudential committee early last week, said Selectman David Sharpe.

“The young men did a terrible thing,” Sharpe said. “They’re basically pretty good guys, but they’ll have to live with this for the rest of their lives.”

Neither has a listed telephone number and they could be reached for comment.

Ruth Weston, 62, of Barre was critically injured in the accident and was declared dead shortly afterward at Porter Medical Center in Middlebury. Her husband, Stephen Weston, and her stepson, Nicolas Weston, also were injured.

Peter “Jamie” Nelson II, 37, of Bristol was driving the truck and he was charged with two felonies: driving under the influence, death resulting, and leaving the scene of an accident. Greene and Sargent were not criminally charged.

A police affidavit says the three men stopped at three bars the afternoon of Nov. 23 and drank beer. They were returning to Bristol on U.S. 7 when the Weston car passed them just south of Vergennes.

Police said the car was hit as the truck swerved back into the southbound lane while they were traveling south of Vergennes. The car landed in a ditch on the west side of the road and the truck spun around.

Sargent told police that Nelson checked on the people in the car and then got back into the truck, demanding that the other two men do the same.

“All the way back to Bristol he kept saying he was going to be in big trouble if he was to be caught,” Sargent told police.

Sargent acknowledged they stopped briefly after leaving the accident scene to throw away several bottles of beer that were in the truck.

Greene told police that Nelson made it sound like the collision wasn’t serious and the people in the other vehicle did not need their assistance.

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Information from: The Burlington Free Press, http://www.burlingtonfreepress.com

AP-ES-12-10-05 1228EST