Police helped stop a vintage fire truck after its driver experienced a medical condition and drove to Wisconsin following a parade in Lake Forest, leaving band members stranded on the back of the truck.
The Pleasant Prairie, Wisconsin Police Communications Center received a call around 12:19 p.m. Wednesday.
The Lake County 911 Emergency Communications Center notified dispatchers over the border that a suspicious vehicle was reported to be traveling northbound on State Highway 31 from 128th Street.
The initial 911 caller indicated that a vintage fire truck was traveling northbound with several people seated on top of the truck, police said.
Pleasant Prairie officers converged on the area and observed an older fire truck on Highway 31 with five men sitting on top of the truck.
Officers stopped the vehicle on Highway 31 at 85th Street.
The men on top of the fire truck told officers they were members of the Sinful Saints Band, which is based out of Crystal Lake, police said.
The band had just participated in a Founders’ Day Parade in Lake Forest and had been riding on the back of the fire truck.
Officers learned that at the end of the parade, the truck’s driver made a wrong turn and drove north on Green Bay Road towards Wisconsin instead of returning to the disassembly point for the parade.
The band member passengers could not get the driver’s attention to alert him that he was going in the wrong direction and that they were still on top of the fire truck.
After the traffic stop, the band members were transported to the Pleasant Prairie Police Department.
They met with officers and enjoyed refreshments while waiting for alternate transportation.
The fire truck driver, who was not intoxicated, was transported to Froedtert Pleasant Prairie Hospital for observation of a medical condition, police said.