82-Year-Old Hits Gas Rather Than Brake, Hitting Two Cars 

Police Log July 17 to July 23, 2022 

July 17

At approximately noontime, a woman came to the police station to complain that when she’d been unable to care for her dog sometime in 2021, a friend had taken the dog. Then the women had a falling out. Now that she’s able to reclaim the dog, the former friend does not wish to part with the dog. The police contacted the friend to see if she’d return the dog and she declined. A civil process is pending.

July 18

n/a

July 19

Shortly before 1:00 PM a man came into the police station to report that he’d befriended a purported woman on Facebook. They communicated daily but did not initially exchange personal information. Then the Facebook friend asked if the complainant could help her access money by giving her his routing and account number. He did so, and $3,000 was wired to the complainant by her “uncle,” after which the complainant disbursed the money to the woman. At some point after that approximately $5,000 was withdrawn from his account, which he discovered when his local bank notified him his account was overdrawn. The woman’s Facebook account was no longer active and she could not be reached via the phone number she’d given the complainant. The matter requires further investigation. 

July 20

At approximately 11:30 AM at Mechanic Square, a man told police that a neighbor frequently yells at him about his barking dog, and she tells him to “shut up” the dog. He said that while his dog barks, it is not excessive, and he calms down quickly. Lately because of new construction and deliveries he was barking but he was sick of being yelled at by her. While police were speaking with the reporting man, a neighbor shared that the woman frequently yells at various neighbors about supposed noise complaints. Police advised the complainant about how to seek a harassment prevention order. 

July 21

n/a

July 22

At approximately 2:00 PM a vehicle driven by an 82-year-old struck a second vehicle as it was stopped at a traffic light at a four-way intersection at Tedesco and Humphrey Streets (both public ways owned and operated by the Town of Marblehead), then continued through a red light, striking a second vehicle and ultimately landing partially on a traffic island. The driver of the vehicle that hit the other two vehicles had a two-year-old child in a toddler seat in the back, who was uninjured. This driver explained that he thought one of the cars he’d hit was moving so had hit the gas rather than the brake. Police noted that he did not appear confident in his answer. The vehicle had extensive front-end damage and had to be towed, and also damaged the Town’s irrigation system. The two vehicles that were hit were damaged as well. An “immediate threat license suspension/revocation” for the driver of the first vehicle was requested by the officer on scene. 

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A man called in to report that four checks he had mailed to a vendor totaling more than $6,700 had been cashed fraudulently by a third party. The matter needs to be investigated further. 

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At approximately 5:40 PM police witnessed a driver honking her horn while accelerating through a crosswalk on Pleasant Street as teenagers jumped back onto the sidewalk. She continued until she was pulled over. When asked if she had seen the kids at the crosswalk, she asked if the officer had seen the kids “flip [her] the bird.” She was issued a citation. 

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At about 10:00 AM, a Throne Depot truck hit and dislodged a utility pole at the intersection of Commercial Street and Red Frank Lane. 

July 23

At approximately 12:30 AM officers noticed 25 to 30 individuals outside the Riptide. Officers pulled up so people would disburse safely. Afterward, two more individuals exited the bar, at which time the officers knocked on the door to ascertain whether any other patrons were being served after the permitted time of 12:15. They were allowed in and contend they saw two individuals running out the back door with beers in hand. They referred the matter to the licensing authority. 

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At about noon time on Roundhouse Road a moving company notified police that one of its trucks had its catalytic converter stolen. 

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At approximately 11:35 PM, a scooter lost control and collided with a parked car at the intersection of Beacon Street and Schooner Ridge. The scooter driver had abrasions and damaged both his scooter and the car.

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At approximately 3:15, a vehicle was driving on Ocean Avenue toward Atlantic Avenue when it rear-ended the car in front of it as it prepared to go into the intersection. The driver who was hit was transported to the hospital. 

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A car was parked in a lot on Front Street when a second car attempted to back out of a spot next to the first and hit it, causing damage to the car it hit. 

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Three reports of hit-and-runs with property damage to parked cars were alleged to have taken place between July 17 and July 23, 2022. 

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Twenty verbal warnings or citations for moving violations were issued between July 17 and July 23, 2022.
 

Editor’s Note: Marblehead Beacon highlights certain events for publication, which include information obtained from incident and arrest reports, and on occasion from court documents. We do not attest to the veracity of anything contained in such documents, and only publish redacted versions of what are matters of public record. All matters covered herein have not been adjudicated in a court of law and are merely allegations. There will be little to no information regarding specifics in cases of domestic violence, matters pertaining to juveniles, incidents in which an individual is taken into protective custody, and select matters that remain under police investigation.