Thousands in taxpayer dollars used to fix state auditor’s Toyota after crash, NC agency says
28 January 2023
RALEIGH, N.C. (WNCN) — New video of North Carolina Auditor Beth Wood (D) was released Friday that shows her getting into a state-owned car the night it was wrecked, and officials say Wood then fled the scene in December.
The new video shows Wood with someone else walking down Hillsborough Street and the two of them getting into a 2021 black Toyota Camry. Wood was elected to her fourth term in 2020, and was assigned in 2021.
Until Friday’s video was released by the N.C. Department of Administration, it was unknown if another person got into the car with Wood as the driver before a wreck at about 9:12 p.m. on Dec. 8 in downtown Raleigh.
Court documents said Wood turned from a direct line on South Salisbury Street and West Hargett Street while driving the Toyota and hit a parked car. Officials say she left the scene after the wreck but the crashed car remained at the scene.
Although the new video — taken at 9 p.m. the night of the wreck — shows Wood being helped into the car by a person who then got into the car with her, it’s not clear if that person was in the car at the time of the crash.
CBS 17 asked Wake County District Attorney Lorrin Freeman about the passenger in the car.
“Law enforcement will continue to exercise due diligence in this case and follow leads that surface,” Freeman said. “Should sufficient evidence surface, including identification of other individuals involved, decisions will be made about appropriate charges.”
In a previously released video taken just after the wreck, Wood appears to be taken into the Edmisten and Webb law firm where there was a party that night, according to people familiar with the event.
Wood said earlier this week she had attended a holiday gathering for a couple hours before the crash.
When police arrived at the scene, a report says they could not locate Wood or anyone who’d witnessed the crash. The report noted there was surveillance video.
When CBS 17 reached out for a statement from Woods in response to the video, her attorney, Roger Smith Jr. said, “Ms. Wood is taking full responsibility for her actions and is cooperating with authorities.”
It’s not clear how much time passed between the crash and when police were able to ask Wood about what happened. She was charged four days later.
State officials said Friday that towing and repair costs related to the incident involving the 2021 Toyota Camry cost $7,707.03.
Wood has been the state auditor since 2009.