North Carolina State Auditor Beth Wood has paid about $7,700 in out-of-pocket funds to cover repairs and towing related to a downtown Raleigh crash in a state-owned car that resulted in a hit-and-run charge against her, according to a state agency.
Julia Hegele, a spokeswoman for the Department of Administration, which oversees the state’s motor fleet division, confirmed Tuesday that Wood had covered the cost. WRAL previously reported the damage total. Weeks after the Dec. 8 crash, Wood said she took “personal responsibility.”
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In a statement Tuesday, Wood said: “I have paid out of pocket for damages to the state car I was driving and to the car I hit. 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. The accident does not define me, nor does it take away from the phenomenal work we’ve done in my administration.”
The car, a 2021 Toyota sedan, had been assigned to Wood in 2021. She was charged Dec 12 with misdemeanor hit-and-run resulting in property damage after crashing the car on Salisbury Street near Hargett Street.
Wood drove the state-owned Toyota 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, a Democrat, had been attending a holiday gathering before the crash. She is due in court on March 23 and has since been asked by the state to avoid driving other state cars until investigations into the incident were completed.
Wood has faced calls to resign by the state Republican Party.
"I am committed to continuing to perform my duties with the same energy and determination I am known for," she said in a statement last month.