Police Log: 2 Separate Incidents in 2 Days of Vehicles Crashing Into Westwood Structures

The news described in Westwood Minute's weekly Police Log article series is primarily based on selected incidents from the Westwood Police Department's daily log, and information provided by Lieutenant Christopher Sheehy and police staff through written records and conversations. Occasionally, Westwood Minute may weave a few facts that it obtains from other sources into these stories.

Sunday, May 12th

Enlarged Tax Return Raises Suspicions of Identity Theft

3:59 p.m. A resident reported possible identity theft and unemployment fraud. A letter from the Massachusetts Department of Revenue informed the resident that a change in tax return had been made in his name, with an adjustment that greatly increased the amount of refund. The resident was suspicious because there was no reason for such change. The resident has contacted the Massachusetts Department of Unemployment Assistance and the Department of Revenue.

Borrowing Requires Permission

4:06 p.m. Police received a report that a scooter was stolen from the Westwood Council on Aging parking lot. The complainant, a man from Westwood, told police that a teen boy took a toddler’s scooter from where it had been left, near the Tot Lot playground. A short while later, the teen returned with the scooter. 

Police spoke to the teen, a Westwood resident, who explained that he and a friend rode on the scooter to Dunkin’ on High Street before returning it. Police explained the situation to the boy’s father, whom the boy assisted police in contacting. The father agreed that the youth had exhibited poor behavior. The youth was counseled. No further action was taken.

Just an Involved Parent

7:25 p.m. Police received a report of a suspicious male who was on Nahatan Street, allegedly watching the girls’ lacrosse team. Police located the man based on the description given and discovered that he was the parent of a player on the girls’ lacrosse team.

Saturday, May 11th

Minivan Strikes Westwood Residence on High Street

1:00 p.m. A 2014 Toyota Sienna minivan was traveling on High Street with the  driver and two occupants when it veered off High Street, went over the curb, struck a fence, struck a tree, and then struck a home at the corner of High and Mill streets.

A witness was driving behind the vehicle and told police that the vehicle left the road without any apparent reason (i.e., no tire blowout nor animal crossing in front). 

Westwood Fire paramedics transported the driver, a 46 year old woman from Medfield, to Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital Boston. There were no other injured parties reported.

The driver’s 53 year-old husband and 18 year-old daughter, who were passengers in the vehicle, reported the possibility of a medical event occurring before the vehicle left the road.

Police cited the driver with failure to remain within marked lanes. Police also notified Westwood's building inspector regarding damage to the house.

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Friday, May 10th

SUV Crashes into Commercial Building on Washington Street

10:44 a.m. A 2021 Toyota SUV was traveling south on Washington Street when it left the road, travelled across the front lawn of 251 Washington Street, and continued to the next property, a commercial building at 257 Washington Street, into which it crashed. The vehicle was severely damaged, with a crushed radiator. There also appeared to be structural damage to the building’s foundation. 

The driver, the only occupant of the SUV, was transported to Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital Needham. Police cited him with a marked lanes violation.

Identity Theft

11:00 a.m. A Westwood resident reported identity theft after learning that an unidentified female had attempted to cash a check using a driver’s license containing the resident’s identification. The suspect attempted to cash a $7,400 check at Portsmouth Savings Bank, but the bank did not allow the transaction to go through. The bank contacted the Westwood resident to inform her of the incident. The resident was filing a police report to create a paper trail in the case of future fraud.

Misbehaving Becomes Vandalism

2:01 p.m. An officer took a report of possible vandalism on Strafford Road. A resident of the street explained that a neighborhood boy, who is about 10 years old, was seen moving the resident’s driveway marker off the resident’s front yard earlier this month. When the complainant asked for the boy to return it, the youth threw the driveway marker onto the neighbor’s property and left. Several days later, the youth reportedly tried to do the same thing. Upon being confronted by his neighbor, the boy allegedly threw the marker at the complainant's front storm door, hitting and damaging it. A few days before contacting police, the complainant also found his basement window was damaged. 

An officer visited the youth’s home and spoke to an adult regarding the complainant's video that showed the youth’s behavior with the driveway marker. The adult indicated that he would address the situation.

Officer Identifies Man Bailing Out Shoplifting Suspect as a Suspect, Himself

7:38 p.m. Police responded to Wegmans where a shoplifting was in progress. The store staff reported recognizing a suspect from prior shoplifting incidents at the Westwood store and other Wegmans locations.

The suspect, a 25 year old man, was observed exiting the store with a shopping cart. Police approached him, and he agreed to return to the store to speak with asset protection staff. The man offered to pay for the unpaid merchandise, which totaled about $783. He was notified that he was under arrest. Police charged him with one count of shoplifting by asportation. Bail was set at $540.

When the suspect's two friends arrived at the police station to take care of the bail, the arresting officer recognized both friends as suspects from other cases. In one incident, one of the men had participated with the arrestee in shoplifting.  The arrestee and his friend had exited the store with a cart of about $1,235 in unpaid merchandise. Police determined the identity of the second suspect and sent him a summons for larceny.

Thursday, May 9th

Even Animals Have Freak Accidents

8:50 a.m. Westwood’s animal control officer responded to Hartford Street where a resident reported a hawk  was either dead or injured in a tree in the caller’s backyard. The hawk was upright in a tree, just outside the property line in a wooded area. 

The officer confirmed that the animal was dead. The officer surmised that it had broken its neck by flying into a tree while scanning for prey on the ground.

Disabled School Bus

7:12 p.m. A caller reported that a school bus had stopped in the road, in the area of Pine Lane and Forest Road, and was blocking the intersection. The caller informed police that the driver was not sitting in the driver’s seat. 

Police investigated and discovered that the bus was from Attleboro’s Bishop Feehan High School. The bus had broken down and the driver had left the driver’s seat to make a call for assistance. 

Around 7:25 p.m., the driver was able to get the bus started and leave the area.

Monday, May 6th

Bathroom Vandal Strikes Again

9:34 a.m. An officer responded to Westwood High School to speak with an employee of the Westwood Recreation Department who reported vandalism to the boys’ locker room. Someone had smeared excrement on the walls and toilet. This report follows a similar incident from April 10th of this year.

Suspicious Vehicle at Wessex Drive and Woodland Road

11:22 a.m. Police received a report that a black Prius was circling the neighborhood of Wessex Drive and Woodland Road, and was pulling in and out of driveways. Police responded, but did not find the vehicle.

Confrontation Avoided

9:39 p.m. Dispatch received a call from a man from Chelsea who told dispatch that he was on the way to confront a Westwood resident who allegedly was sending harassing texts to the Chelsea man's ex-wife. Dispatch advised him to desist and he refused.

A shift supervisor, sergeant, and officer arrived to meet the man at the Westwood address. It turned out to be a house under construction on Nahatan Street, with no occupants. Police spoke with the Chelsea man, who arrived along with his ex-wife. Police advised the man to report any harassment to the police. Additionally, police informed the Chelsea man of the process to obtain a harassment prevention order for his ex-wife, who was not fluent in English.

Thanks to Lieutenant Christopher Sheehy and the Westwood Police Department for contributing information for this Westwood Minute article.

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