The former transit director was cited for drunken driving a month and a half before he resigned

His resignation and the citations were kept quiet until The Wausonian investigated

At 7:09 pm July 9, a Wednesday evening, then-Wausau Transit Director Arran Hersey allegedly drove the wrong way down Third Street in downtown Wausau.

Although the street he entered Third Street from wasn’t listed on the citation, GPS coordinates listed allege Hersey attempted to make a left-hand turn from Scott Street onto Third.

He was stopped by a foot beat patrol officer, according to the citation, who let him know he was traveling the wrong way on a one-way, a traffic law infraction. But the officer also says he detected a strong odor of intoxicants coming from Hersey, and noticed an open intoxicant container inside Hersey’s vehicle.

Officers determined that Hersey was intoxicated, and they arrested him and cited with his first offense of OWI, driving the wrong way against traffic on a one-way and having an open intoxicant in the vehicle.

Hersey resigned on Aug. 29, more than a month and a half after the incident.

The public until recently was aware of none of this. Nothing was made public about Hersey’s resignation or the citations. Ron Schuenke appeared in his place at transit meetings (many of them were canceled). Nothing was said about why. Recently he was introduced as an interim director, which prompted The Wausonian to ask more questions.

Meanwhile, a staff directory listing still has Hersey listed as the transit director. And Hersey’s own LinkedIn profile does as well - the profile says 2014-present.

It all seemed strange, until The Wausonian got a tip about the citations.

The Wausonian reached out to Transit Director Becky McElhaney, Mayor Doug Diny and Hersey himself to get answers about what happened.