Needham Police Log: Car Smashed into Pole, Scams, and More

May 4

10:00 a.m. - An officer responded to Highland Avenue and Gould Street for a report of an accident involving town property. The street sign, Highland Avenue/Huntington Road, was knocked down and the mulch berm at the corner of Highland Avenue and Hunting Road had deep tire tracks in it. Additionally, the walk signal box on the street light was knocked off and the utility pole 1/34 was hit. No vehicles remained at the scene but based on the size of the accident it appears a tractor-trailer unit struck the pole and damaged the area. A check of the area showed no vehicles matching that description. Sgt. Cray arrived on scene and took pictures of the accident scene. The matter is under investigation.

11:00 a.m. - An officer responded to a Central Avenue address for a report of a bicycle with a missing serial number that was purchased on Ebay. The website was notified by the reporting party and the matter is currently under investigation by the Needham Police Department.

9:30 p.m. - An officer responded to a South Street residence for a report of a possible solicitation scam. The reporting party said that she was contacted earlier in the evening by two female parties soliciting at her front door. The reporting party donated to two separate charities. Later she looked up the organizations online and discovered they may be scamming donors out of money. At this point, she called the police. She was advised to stop payment on the checks and report the incident to her bank.

May 5

A resident of Chambers Street reported that someone had called her claiming that they could help her fix problems on her computer. She paid for the "fix" with her bank debit card but later learned that this was a scam. The bank was able to stop the payment and issued her a new card.