RALEIGH, N.C. (WNCN) – North Carolina Auditor Beth Wood, who is facing another court date in late March for a hit-and-run, had more documents come to light Tuesday night days after reports showed she drove another state-issued vehicle after her first was involved in the crash.
A letter from Motor Fleet Management said she may have been misusing a state vehicle for personal use following the Dec. 8 crash.
“It has come to our attention that you have been driving an agency-assigned vehicle to commute between work and home while the use of your permanently assigned vehicle has been suspended or temporarily terminated,” the letter directly from the Motor Fleet Management Director read. “According to Motor Fleet Management Regulations, Section VII, Vehicle Use, commuting is only permitted in an individually assigned state vehicle, and then only when certain proscribed conditions are met and authorized to do so by the Division of Motor Fleet Management.”
The auditor’s office released travel logs that show the auditor received another car Dec. 12, the same day court documents show that police charged her with misdemeanor hit-and-run, CBS 17 previously reported.
Several weeks after that, Wood received a letter from the state’s Motor Fleet Management Director informing her that the assignment of her original car that was involved in the crash was “temporarily terminated.” Robert Riddle went on to write, “Furthermore, you are discouraged from driving any other state-owned vehicle during this investigative period.” That letter is different than the one obtained by CBS 17 on Tuesday.
In response to questions about the travel logs, a spokesperson for the Department of Administration told CBS 17 in an email that Wood still has not been assigned another car but that the Office of State Auditor has five vehicles assigned to it.
Tuesday’s letter also read, “Additionally, it appears that you may be using a state-owned vehicle for personal use. If this is the case, this constitutes misuse of a state-owned vehicle…Please be advised that misuse of a state-owned vehicle could result in revocation of assignment of the vehicle to your agency.”
The travel logs indicate Wood used the car to travel to work, to her home, to doctor’s appointments, to speaking engagements and other locations. One page of the log, covering the period between Dec. 26 and Jan. 5, specifically lists her as the person responsible for the state-issued vehicle, CBS 17 previously reported.