NC Auditor responds to calls to resign for her hit-and-run accident in state-owned vehicle
North Carolina State Auditor Beth Wood responded Tuesday to calls for her resignation, apologizing for her hit-and-run but saying it does not define her.
“I would just say that if I could go back and change my decision that night it would be different, but all I can do moving forward is take responsibility for the accident and fix what was broken,” Wood told NC Insider and The News & Observer, outside a committee meeting at the state Legislative Building.
Asked for a response to calls from the North Carolina GOP for her to resign, Wood said “absolutely not.”
“That accident does not define me, nor does it take away from the phenomenal work we’ve done in my administration,” she said.
Wood also said she is personally covering the damages from the accident.
She was at the legislature to speak about a bill regarding local government auditing.
Wood is facing hit-and-run charges from the December car crash and has said little publicly about the incident apart from statements from her office.
A police report says Wood turned to the right while driving on South Salisbury Street and crashed into a parked car, The N&O reported. She said in her statement that she had just left a holiday gathering downtown, that the crash left her “shaken” and that she left the scene after she couldn’t move her car.
Court date in March
Wood did not attend in person a February 7 meeting of the Council of State — a 10-person committee of elected officials that includes Gov. Roy Cooper and North Carolina Attorney General Josh Stein.
After the meeting, Cooper answered questions about Wood’s charges. He told reporters he had not spoken with her yet.
“This case is still under investigation,” Cooper said, and “still has a court date. And we’ll let that play out.”
Stein, a Democrat like Wood and Cooper, said it was not unusual for Council of State members to attend virtually.
“Well, I’ve had to call into meetings before,” Stein said. “I have no idea what her daily schedule is. And it’s perfectly appropriate to participate virtually.”
Though asked separately, Stein’s answer mirrored Cooper’s in responding to the same questions about Wood’s transparency.
“It is an issue for Auditor Wood. It’s being investigated, and we’ll let the process play out,” said Stein, who is running for governor.
Top Republican leaders in the General Assembly told reporters last month that they were not calling for Wood’s resignation, either — although the North Carolina Republican Party has.
“While the car accident may have been a mistake, the decision to sneak away from the scene was intentional and wholly unbecoming of an elected official,” the NCGOP said in a Tweet.
Senate leader Phil Berger, an Eden Republican, told reporters in January that other elected officials have been convicted of “far worse offenses than leaving the scene of an accident.”
“Ultimately it is up to voters to make those kinds of decisions,” he said. “That’s our system.”
House Speaker Tim Moore, a Kings Mountain Republican, said the court process should play out.
“Any person, regardless of who they are, is entitled to be presumed innocent and have their day in court when there’s a criminal justice investigation,” Moore said.
The next Council of State meeting, which was scheduled for next week, has been canceled. Wood’s next court date is scheduled for March 23.
If Wood were to resign, Cooper would appoint her replacement.
This story was originally published February 28, 2023 at 11:14 AM.
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