A former St. Paul Winter Carnival Vulcan allegedly backed his own firetruck into a car and a retaining wall Saturday night in downtown St. Paul and ignored pleas to stop, according to police.
The accident, which caused minor damage to a parked car, happened about 9:30 p.m. behind the Eagle Street Grille at 174 W. Seventh St. The truck, with a group of passengers in the back, then took off, police said.
The truck is owned by Dallas J. Apfelbacher of Mendota Heights, according to a police report. Apfelbacher assumed the Vulcan role of Count Embrious during the 2006 Winter Carnival, according to stpaulvulcans.org.
Apfelbacher could not be reached for comment.
According to a former Vulcan Krewe member who wished to remain anonymous, Vulcans have used more than six different firetrucks in the past decade or so during their yearlong stints as Winter Carnival characters. Several are still on the road, he said.
The 2011 Vulcan Krewe — the Winter Carnival’s group of red-cloaked rapscallions — was not involved in the parking lot mishap, according to an e-mail from another former Vulcan. The Vulcan said he was driving the new Krewe to an event in Roseville at the time of the accident.
“The Vulcan Fire Truck, known as Luverne, was at a private function on Saturday night …” the Vulcan wrote.
In a statement, St. Paul police reported that officers were called to the West Seventh tavern after a patron standing on the back patio saw “the driver of an older model firetruck back out of the alley and hit a parked car.”
The witness told police that he yelled to the driver and the passengers in the truck bed that the truck had hit a parked car, but the driver kept backing out, police said.
The owner of the restaurant then came outside and saw the truck back into a retaining wall, he told police. He told officers he asked the driver to stop and exchange insurance information, but “the driver refused and drove off …” according to police.
The firetruck was found a short while later behind Alary’s Bar at 137 E. Seventh St., police said. No one was in the truck, and officers were unable to locate the driver or his passengers Saturday night.
Investigators with the department’s traffic and accident unit were able to interview Apfelbacher on Monday morning. He told officers he was driving the truck Saturday night but “thought he hit some ice.”
He said he was unaware that he struck a parked car and retaining wall, according to police. He also said he had no recollection of being asked to stop the truck and provide insurance, police said.
Police have turned the case over to the city attorney for formal review.
The Vulcan Krewe — a group of eight masked characters led by Vulcanus Rex — is a central part of the carnival legend.
Each year, the rambunctious Vulcans return to boot pompous King Boreas Rex out of St. Paul to hasten the end of winter.
John Brewer can be reached at 651-228-2093.
Copyright 2011 Pioneer Press.
