State Auditor Beth Wood commuted in agency car after crash, state fleet director says

Wood was discouraged from driving state-owned cars after crashing a fleet vehicle in December. Using an agency car to commute violates regulations, the state motor fleet director says.

Posted 3:47 a.m. Feb 15, 2023 — Updated 4:12 a.m. Feb 15, 2023

WRAL News staff

North Carolina State Auditor Beth Wood, facing a hit-and-run charge from a December crash, has since been commuting in an agency-issued car — a violation of state regulations, according to a state official.

Wood was notified of the possible violation in a Feb. 3 letter from Robert Riddle, the director of state’s motor fleet division. The letter, obtained by WRAL, was sent less than two weeks after Wood’s state-issued car was revoked while an investigation continued into the crash.

State employees who are issued cars are allowed to use the vehicles to commute under certain conditions. But commuting isn’t permitted in cars that are assigned to agencies, Riddle said in the letter.

“Additionally, it appears that you may be using a state-owned vehicle for personal use,” Riddle wrote to Wood. “If this is the case, this constitutes misuse of a state-owned vehicle.” Such violations could lead to the car being revoked from the agency, he wrote.

When reached, a Wood spokeswoman didn’t immediately provide a comment late Tuesday. Wood, who has built a reputation as a watchdog adept at unearthing wrongdoing in all corners of North Carolina government, has said little about the incident since issuing a statement last month in which she apologized for the crash.

The February motor fleet letter added support to details in travel logs obtained this month by WRAL News. Wood logged miles in a state-owned Toyota Camry starting as early as Dec. 12 — the day she was charged following the Dec. 8 crash that put her state-issued car out of commission, the documents show.

Travel logs indicate State Auditor Beth Wood used state-owned car after state asked her not to

The logs indicated that the car was used to get to speaking engagements, home, the office, doctor’s appointments, church on a Sunday and other destinations. Most of the entries appeared to be filled out, signed or initialed by Wood. One page of the logs, detailing use from Dec. 26 to Jan. 5, listed Wood as the driver.

Signatures, handwriting and other details on the logs, such as destinations and addresses, indicated that Wood regularly logged miles in the undamaged car through the end of January, including on Jan. 24 — the day Riddle notified Wood that the division had temporarily revoked the crashed car. Riddle didn’t prohibit Wood from driving state-owned cars at the time, but he did discourage her from doing so.

Wood is due in court next month on a misdemeanor charge of hit-and-run resulting in property damage after the crash on Salisbury Street near Hargett Street in downtown Raleigh.

Wood drove her state-issued vehicle into a parked car, rolling partially up onto its hood, according to police reports, images and descriptions of the crash aftermath reported to emergency dispatchers. Police arrived at the scene to find the engine running and no driver, one of those reports said. She was also cited for an unsafe movement infraction.

Wood said in a statement last month that she had been attending a holiday gathering for about two hours prior to the crash. “I was shaken by the incident and, when I was unable to move my vehicle, I left the scene,” she said in the statement. “That was a serious mistake and I regret my decision.”

State employees who are assigned state-owned vehicles are expected to abide by rules and regulations outlined by the motor fleet management division. “The same rules and regulations apply to all drivers of state-owned vehicles regardless of the employee’s position,” the administration department said in an email last month.

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