‘I made a sharp sudden turn and struck a parked vehicle,’ Beth Wood reported last month

North Carolina State Auditor Beth Wood was driving a state-owned vehicle assigned to her when she struck a parked car in downtown Raleigh last month, a police report obtained by The News & Observer alleges.

Wood was driving the state-owned 2021 Toyota on South Salisbury Street on the evening of Dec. 8, toward West Hargett Street, when she struck a 2016 Toyota parked on the side of the road, according to an accident report filled out by a Raleigh police officer who responded to the scene.

The officer stated in the report that the 2016 Toyota was parked out of the way of traffic when Wood’s vehicle “overrode up onto the hood” of the parked car. The officer reported that the engine of Wood’s vehicle was running when police arrived, and that the driver “appeared to have fled at this time.”

“I made a sharp sudden turn and struck a parked vehicle,” Wood said in a report she submitted to an accident services firm used by the state government four days later, on Dec. 12.

Raleigh police charged Wood last month with a hit-and-run misdemeanor, issued a citation ordering her to appear in court, and conducted a follow-up investigation, Wake County District Attorney Lorrin Freeman said Wednesday night.

Freeman confirmed the charges — a Class 2 misdemeanor for hit-and-run, leaving the scene and property damage, as well as an infraction for unsafe movement. Wood’s court date is Jan. 26, according to state court records.

Wood did not return multiple requests for comment throughout the day on Thursday. Lane Rosen, a spokesperson for the State Auditor’s office, said in an email Thursday morning the office had no comment.

Wood, a Democrat first elected in 2008, was reelected in 2020 to a fourth term leading the office that examines all areas of state government and issues regular reports on its findings.

Wood’s state-assigned vehicle involved in crash

The police report identifies the vehicle that struck the parked car as a 2021 Toyota owned by Motor Fleet Management, a division of the N.C. Department of Administration that “provides passenger vehicles to state employees who require a vehicle for their job duties,” according to Motor Fleet Management’s website.

Julia Hegele, a DOA spokesperson, told The N&O the state car assigned to Wood is a black 2021 Toyota Camry. The single-digit tag number and VIN number Hegele provided match what is listed in the police report.

Any accidents involving a state-owned car must be reported to the division within 10 days, according to a copy of Motor Fleet Management regulations published in January 2017.

Wood submitted an “automotive loss report” on Dec. 12, in which she said her 2021 Toyota Camry hit a parked vehicle and had resulted in damage to the front right passenger side and panel.

The report, submitted to Holman, the accident services management company used by the state government, says the police were called, and the state car was not driveable.

Accident was caught on surveillance video

In the accident report, Raleigh police said there were no signs of any injuries when the officer arrived at the scene.

The report says there were no witnesses, but there is surveillance video of the accident.

A “press copy” of a separate incident report provided by Raleigh police confirmed that the incident occurred near the intersection of West Hargett and South Salisbury streets, but did not provide details about the car Wood was driving, or the other vehicle that was damaged.

A Raleigh Police Department spokesperson confirmed the incident occurred on Dec. 8 but said police could not provide additional information from the report due to the Driver’s Privacy Protection Act, a federal law regulating the disclosure of a driver’s personal information.

The charges against Wood were first reported by Axios.

As state auditor, Wood is also on the Council of State, a group comprising 10 statewide elected officials including the governor and lieutenant governor, that usually meets monthly.

She recently said she planned to run for another term in 2024.