Officials believe NC Auditor Beth Wood made personal use of state car, records show
State Auditor Beth Wood’s continued use of a state-assigned vehicle has come under scrutiny from officials in charge of the fleet.
The officials who temporarily suspended Wood’s individual vehicle assignment after her hit-and-run crash in December are now examining her subsequent use of another car assigned to her office, including her possible “personal use” of a state car, in potential violation of state law and agency regulations.
A letter sent to Wood earlier this month by Robert Riddle, director of Motor Fleet Management, the division of the Department of Administration in charge of the state’s fleet of vehicles, states that it appeared that Wood may have used one of the cars available to her through her office for “personal use,” which would be considered “misuse” of a state-owned car.
The letter, obtained by The News & Observer through a records request, cites state law and a section of Motor Fleet regulations, which states that “It shall be unlawful for any state employee to use a state-owned vehicle for any private purpose whatsoever.”
Riddle goes on to warn Wood in the letter that “misuse of a state-owned vehicle could result in revocation of the assignment of the vehicle to your agency.”
The agency’s scrutiny of Wood’s use of state vehicles comes as several questions about her wreck remain unanswered, including what caused Wood to crash her car into another vehicle parked on the side of the road, in a manner that left her car partially suspended on top of the other one, and whether she ever formally reported the crash to police.
Wood’s use of other cars not allowed under rules
Wood was previously assigned a Toyota Camry for official business. That was the car she was driving when she crashed it into a parked car in downtown Raleigh on Dec. 8 and left the scene, prompting police to cite her with a misdemeanor hit-and-run charge.
Four days later, Wood began driving another Camry assigned to the Office of State Auditor, vehicle logs provided by her office last week show. The logs were first reported by Axios Raleigh.
Wood continued using the state-owned vehicle for the rest of the month and all of January, including for a week after Riddle informed her on Jan. 24 that her vehicle assignment had been temporarily suspended due to an ongoing investigation.
According to Wood’s office, she had stopped using any state-owned cars assigned to her office as of Feb. 1.
Two days later, Riddle warned Wood that commuting in a state-owned vehicle is only allowed “in an individually assigned state vehicle,” and that commuting in another “agency-assigned vehicle” isn’t permitted under the agency’s regulations.
“It has come to our attention that you have been driving an agency-assigned vehicle to commute between work and home while the use of your permanently assigned vehicle has been suspended or temporarily terminated,” Riddle wrote to Wood in the Feb. 3 letter.
Personal use of state car?
Riddle also said that it appeared Wood may have been using one of the cars assigned to her office for personal use.
“If this is the case, this constitutes misuse of a state-owned vehicle,” Riddle wrote.
The letter doesn’t specify what led Motor Fleet officials to believe Wood may have used a state car for personal use.
A spokesperson for Wood’s office, Catherine Nagy, said the office had no comment on the letter.
Apart from issuing a statement about the crash last month, in which Wood apologized for leaving the scene without informing the police or the owner of the car she had struck, she has not addressed the incident or answered any other questions.
An attorney for Wood appeared on her behalf during an initial court appearance in January. Wood’s next court appearance on the misdemeanor charge is scheduled for March 23.
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This story was originally published February 14, 2023 at 4:20 PM.
