State fleet temporarily suspends NC auditor’s vehicle assignment in light of crash
The state Department of Administration temporarily suspended North Carolina State Auditor Beth Wood’s vehicle assignment this week in light of the hit-and-run incident Wood was charged in last month.
The director of Motor Fleet Management, the DOA division that manages the state’s fleet of vehicles for use by state employees, told Wood on Tuesday that her vehicle assignment had been temporarily put on hold, Julia Hegele, a DOA spokesperson, said in an email Friday.
The state-owned 2021 Toyota Camry that Wood was driving on the night of Dec. 8, when she crashed into a car parked on the side of the road, was assigned to her in April 2021, according to Hegele. Since then, Motor Fleet Management hasn’t assigned another state vehicle to Wood, Hegele said.
Wood addressed the incident for the first time on Monday, releasing a statement in which she said she had attended a holiday gathering in downtown Raleigh before the crash occurred. Wood said she was “shaken” by the incident, which resulted in her car partially riding up on top of the parked car.
When she couldn’t move her vehicle, she said, she left the scene without informing the police or the owner of the car she hit. Wood apologized for leaving from the scene, a decision she said was “a serious mistake.”
The total cost of towing Wood’s vehicle from the scene of the crash and repairing it was $7,707.03, Hegele said. The state’s fleet of vehicles is insured through Travelers Insurance.
Apart from issuing a statement Monday, Wood has avoided answering other questions about the crash, including where she went after it happened, and if she reported the incident to the police at any point.
Wood didn’t specify which event she was attending prior to the crash, but a video posted on Instagram the night of the crash appears to show Wood being escorted into a building at the corner of South Salisbury and West Hargett streets, where the crash occurred.
The building is in part occupied by the law office of Edmisten and Webb, where Rufus Edmisten, a former N.C. secretary of state and attorney general, and partner at the firm, was hosting a holiday party the night of the crash, according to a copy of an invitation reported by WRAL.
Wood was scheduled to make an initial appearance in Wake County traffic court Thursday, where her attorney, Roger W. Smith Jr., appeared on her behalf. A judge set Wood’s next court date for March 23.
This story was originally published January 27, 2023 at 12:27 PM.
