LEWISBORO, N.Y. - Motor-vehicle snafus dominated reports by Lewisboro Police during the latter part of November and the first week of December.
On Tuesday, Nov. 12, an accident with property damage took place on Gideon Reynolds Road in Cross River. When a woman there stopped for traffic and man driving behind her swerved into oncoming traffic to avoid hitting her vehicle. He nonetheless struck and damaged her taillight. Because both vehicles remained operable, no tow was required and no formal accident report was filed.
A vehicle traveling west on Route 35 in South Salem later that day struck a deer that jumped into the roadway. The impact sent the deer into the eastbound lane, where it was struck by a second vehicle and got stuck underneath it. The car managed to pull off the road, where the deer freed itself – but because its rear legs were broken, an officer had to euthanize the animal.
On Wednesday, Nov. 13, an officer surveilling traffic at the corner of Route 123 and Elmwood Road spotted a white van travelling northbound on Route 123 with a rear license plate covered with plastic. The officer stopped the van, and the driver produced a Connecticut Class D license. The officer also noted that the New Jersey temporary paper plate was fraudulent: The number was out of sequence and was not issued in the proper, current format, which has a hologram. A record check showed the plate number to belong to a different vehicle. Sal’s Towing impounded the vehicle, and the driver was issued a ticket to appear in court.
The following Tuesday, Nov. 19, a driver idling at a stop light on Route 121 accidentally removed her foot from the brake and collided with the car in front. The impact caused damage to the back of one vehicle and the front of the other. The two parties agreed to obtain an estimate and repair their cars without an accident report.
On Wednesday morning, Nov. 20, an officer was observing traffic on the northwest corner of Route 35 and Spring Street in South Salem. Approximately three car lengths away, he observed an SUV traveling west on Route 35 make a left turn onto Ridgefield Avenue – where a sign prohibits left turns from 6 to 10 a.m. After stopping the SUV, the driver produced a Connecticut Class D license – but his New York driving privileges were suspended in 2004 for failure to answer a summons upstate.
Moreover, the driver’s registration and insurance card expired in 2023. He received four tickets: for disobeying a traffic-control device, for operating an unregistered vehicle, for driving without valid insurance, and for unlicensed operation in New York. Sal’s Towing impounded the vehicle.
On Thursday, Nov. 21, a bystander at Cross River Plaza observed a hit-and-run accident. The first vehicle struck a parked car and left the plaza without stopping. The bystander took several photos of the accident and the vehicle that left. The damage to the parked vehicle was minor and its driver requested that no accent report be taken. Using the photos, police were able to locate the address where the first vehicle was registered.
The resident there confirmed he owned the vehicle, but said his son had been using it. The vehicle was located and had what appeared to be recent damage to the rear driver’s side, consistent with the events described by the bystander. The father requested no accident report, but the investigation is still ongoing.
An officer traveling south on Route 123 in South Salem on Tuesday, Nov. 26 spotted an expired inspection sticker on a northbound vehicle. After the officer stopped the vehicle, he learned that the registration had expired as well. Additionally, the license plates belonged to a different vehicle and the windshield was fractured. The driver received five tickets, and the vehicle was impounded by Sal’s Towing.
Police also handled a variety of non-traffic incidents, some of which were:
On Nov. 12, police responded to a call reporting a tree that had fallen and struck a house in South Salem. The damage was to the siding and windows on the north side of the house. Police learned the owner was away on vacation and contacted her by phone. The owner then contacted a friend, who boarded up the windows for her.
On Nov. 13, a Lewisboro resident came to police headquarters to report an identity theft case. She had noticed issues with her cell phone and later learned that unauthorized purchases had been made to two of her credit cards. Additionally, a new card had been opened in her name without her authorization. What’s more, her cell device was copied and used for international calling. In addition to filing the report, the resident was provided with information on identify theft from the Federal Trade Commission as well as instructions on how to contact the credit bureaus.
On Nov. 15, a South Salem homeowner found a long extension cord plugged into an outlet in front of her house and running across the street to a van parked in front of a garage. A note on her car informed her that a couple who were old neighbors – a man and a woman - were sleeping overnight in the van. The note also said: “I hope you’re okay with us borrowing your power for some heat tonight.” The homeowner said she did not know these people, nor did she give them permission to use her electricity. Police made the two people exit the van, whereupon they were transported to Lewisboro Police headquarters while Sal’s Towing impounded the van. In a supporting deposition, the homeowner said she feared the couple trespassing on her property again. Both were released with appearance tickets with a mandatory court date.
Among a variety of EMS-assistance calls, on Nov. 20 a police unit aided a man who had fallen to the floor at the South Salem post office. His spouse told police that he had forgotten to bring his cane while entering the post office. The man sustained a cut to his lip and some bruising to his right cheek. Westchester Emergency Medical Services determined the man to require further medical treatment, so Lewisboro Volunteer Ambulance Corps transported the man to an area hospital.
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