Crime Report: Man Cited on Charges of Leaving Scene of Accident

responded July 21 to at Honeytree south of Joy Road for a report of an abandoned car that had struck a tree, according to a police report.

Upon arrival, police observed a red Dodge Neon south of Honeycomb Circle in the southbound lane of Honeytree. According to the report, the vehicle had sustained heavy damage on the front passenger side from hitting a large tree. The wreck had deployed the front passenger airbag, but not the driver’s airbag, the report said, and a crater in the shape of a human head was found in the windshield directly in front of the driver’s seat with pieces of hair left behind.

When police checked local hospitals for possible victims, they met with the front-seat passenger, who complained of a possible concussion and had a scratch above his left eyelid and swelling consistent with an airbag deployment injury, the report said.

The passenger told police he and a friend were playing video games at his apartment when an acquaintance arrived in the Neon and was going to give the two a ride to buy potato chips, the report said. The driver told the two how he got a new transmission and, demonstrating how fast the car could go, took off at a high rate of speed before losing control and crashing into the tree, the report said. He told police he didn’t know where the driver had gone, but told police he heard someone say the man was bleeding “pretty bad.”

The back seat passenger, who had stomach and rib pains from the crash, told police he didn’t know the driver’s name. He told police he drove his friend to Annapolis Hospital.

Police later received a call from Oakwood Annapolis Hospital in Wayne indicating the driver had checked in, the report said.

The driver told police that he didn’t know anything about the accident, telling police he was a passenger in an accident, when his friend who went only by the name “G” struck a tree. The man swore on his “father’s ashes” he wasn’t the driver. Police informed the man the other two passengers from the night before had said he was the driver and would have no reason to lie. The man told police he had several witnesses who could testify he was a passenger in the vehicle.

According to the report, the man had injuries to his head consistent with the windshield damage.

Police cited the man on charges of reckless driving, failure to report a personal injury accident and driving with a suspended license with an Aug. 8 court date.

A hospital security guard told police the man had whispered to another patient “I was driving, but don’t rat me out,” the report said. The patient told police he would agree to testify if needed.  

Cell phone reported stolen in Plymouth Township

responded July 22 to Speedway, 1490 S. Sheldon Road, for a report of a stolen cell phone, according to a police report.

A vehicle owner told police she had parked her car at the gas station to buy some items, locking the doors but leaving the windows down, the report said.

During that time, the woman told police, someone took the cell phone from her vehicle. She told police she had to file a police report for insurance purposes.

For questions about this crime report, email john.mckay@patch.com.