After Crash, Woman Lied About Who Was Driving: Cops

CONCORD, NH – A local woman will be in court next week after allegedly lying to police about who was driving her vehicle before a collision on South Main Street.

Chelsea Drake, 20, of Dudley Hill Road in Pembroke, was arrested at 12:12 p.m. on Nov. 9, 2015, for false report on an accident and a bench warrant for speeding out of Manchester District Court for nonpayment of a fine for speeding, $888 cash to settle.

Editor’s note: This post was derived from information supplied by the Concord Police Department. It does not indicate a conviction. Click this link to find out how to get a name removed from a New Hampshire Patch police report.

An officer was sent to a two-vehicle collision on South Main Street near Hills Avenue. One of the drivers – Drake – reportedly told the officer that she was driving in the left hand lane when she slowed for traffic and was rear-ended. The vehicle had some bumper cover damage but it was OK to drive from the scene.

However, a parking enforcement officer told the investigating officer that Drake was not the driver. She stated that she heard the accident and when she came around the corner, she saw a man in the driver’s seat that later fled the area.

“Upon looking at the driver’s seat it was clearly pulled too far forward for Drake to be driving,” according to the officer. “I then returned to Drake and asked her again who was driving the vehicle. Drake then admitted to me that she in fact was not the operator of the vehicle but rather a friend of hers.”

Drake allegedly stated that she believed her friend fled because he didn’t have a license. She wasn’t driving because she did not feel well, the officer reported.

The other vehicle driver stated that she couldn’t identify who was driving the vehicle she rear-ended because she pulled forward into a parking space and after exiting, a man, Drake, and the parking officer, were all standing outside of the vehicle.

“A check of the area produced negative contact with the suspect,” the officer alleged. “Drake attempted to contact him to have him come back to the scene but it appeared his phone was turned off.”

The man was from Lawrence, MA, but dispatchers were unable to find out anyone with his name or birthdate, according to the report.

The officer arrested Drake and she was later released on personal recognizance bail.