Crash involving coaches forces Firebirds to delay road trip

FARMINGTON — The Farmington Firebirds ran into a new set of problems when the team’s manager crashed a rental van into a rental van the assistant manager was driving.

Team Manager Curtis W. “C.J.” Bilbrey crashed a van into Assistant Manager C.J. Zeller’s van when Zeller was turning onto Black Knight Drive from Columbia Street at about 9:30 a.m. Monday.

According to police, one driver slowed while the second driver ran his van into the rear of the other. It was a minor collision but one van had to be towed away because the bumper was pushed into the wheel.

Complicating matters was the 23-year-old team manager’s active warrant for an unpaid ticket for failure to show proof of insurance, and his suspended driver’s license. Bilbrey, of St. Louis, was arrested and transported to the county jail where he was going to be held on a $1,000 bond.

As players waited in the Farmington Centene Center parking lot to find out how and if they were going to Tennessee for the scheduled 7 p.m. game against the Union City Greyhounds, the team’s manager was being bonded out by his family.

Both of the vans had been rented from Budget Car Rentals in St. Louis. By noon, the team wasn’t able to arrange for new rental transportation so the decision was made to ride down in a couple of players’ vehicles.

Unfortunately, moments after the team departed from Farmington, they were informed that the umpires had been told the game was cancelled.

The Firebirds, who are currently last in the KIT League standings with a 4-17 record, eventually arrived safely in nearby Martin and plans to play two games against Union City tonight.