crash_reports

On 01/31/19 at 10:39 hours, I responded to the parking lot of the Jewish Community Center located at 333 Nahanton Street for a motor vehicle hit and run accident. The parking lot is accessible to the public and designed for vehicles to travel to and from the JCC. Owner of M/V 1 states she was parked on the side of the handicapped parking stall thinking it was ok to park there. She then ran in to the JCC for approximately one minute and when she returned she observed her driver's side front door was struck. I observed significant damage to the door frame and the door would not close. The owner called for a private tow to remove the vehicle. The staff at the JCC stated that a Martha Bixby gave her number and stated that she observed a black colored car with MA reg. # 934HH4 strike M/V 1. I attempted to call the number and left a message. The listing for that plate comes back to a 2010 Lexus ES350 color gray. I was then showed the video surveillance from the JCC's cameras and it shows an older white female exiting the lobby wearing a winter hat and carrying a bag with purple flower designs on it. She then walks through the lot and enters a gray Lexus ES350. The Lexus then starts backing out of the spot. The Lexus then continues backwards in to the other side of the parking stalls and strikes M/V 1 on the driver's side front door. The Lexus then pulls forward and leaves the scene without stopping or providing her information. As the Lexus is leaving, you can see there is a dent to the driver's side rear bumper. The video is not clear enough to see the plate on the Lexus or clearly see the operator's face. After, I located a number for the owner of the Lexus M/V 2 (Tania Lefman). I spoke to Lefman on the phone and she stated that she was backing out of the JCC parking lot at that time and felt a tiny bump to her rear end. She says that she could not stop in time due to the icy parking lot and then left the area thinking that nothing was wrong, it was only minor. I advised her there was significant damage to the other car. She was issued and mailed MA Uniform Citation T1441054 for Ch. 90/24/C Leaving the scene of property damage.

On 7/9/2019 at approx 1406Hrs while assigned to 497 I responded to level 4A of the Newton Wellesley parking garage at 2014 Washington St for a report of a minor collision. Upon arrival I spoke with the operator of RI Reg FV705, Malorie CURLEY who stated she had parked her new work vehicle in the parking stall was exiting her vehicle to see if she was within the lines when the operator of Ma Reg 69EL83 Laurence HENDY pulled into the spot next to her, opened his door striking her truck, CURLEY stated as she was rounding the car HENDY proceeded to grab his door and slam it into her car several more times. CURLEY stated she confronted HENDY who refused to exchange information with her for the damage to her car and fled. CURLEY took pictures which she will provide in her own crash report. The front bumper of CURLEYS car had several spots where the white paint was peeled back , HENDYS vehicle had the matching white paint on the edge of his drivers side door. Although the damage was minor CURLEY requested a report for documentation as it was her work vehicle. i attempted to contact HENDY but no phone number is listed.

On Sunday 11/24/19 at approximately 1730 hours while working in marked unit n499 I was dispatched to the parking lot on the rt9 side of 225 Boylston Street (Bloomingdales) for a report of a minor motor vehicle crash. Upon arrival I spoke with the operator of motor vehicle 2, GIRARD Kathleen, who states that she was driving from the 2nd aisle of parking spots into the main travel lane to attempt to exit the mall. When she attempted to turn left she didnt see motor vehicle 1 already in the lane of traffic striking the side of the vehicle. After speaking with GIRARD I spoke with the operator of motor vehicle 1, SONG Guang min. SONG did not speak english, but he corroborated what GIRARD had stated by using a translation app on his cell phone. GIRARD had damage to the front of her vehicle and SONG had damage to the drivers side of his vehicle. Both vehicles were still operable and were driven from the scene. Neither party was injured

On 04/20/21 at 11:46 hours, I (Traffic Unit 523) responded to the CVS parking lot located at 978 Boylston Street for a city motor vehicle hit & run accident. The city vehicle was struck when the operator was inside the store and the other unknown vehicle left the scene. The CVS parking lot is a thru-way for the public to access and park for the store. The weather at the time was partly cloudy and the road conditions were dry. On arrival, I met the driver of the city vehicle identified as William Bertrand (MA D/L# S24973075). The vehicle is a 2016 Ford Escape color black with MA registration # M2534A and is labeled as vehicle number 304. Mr. Bertrand stated he was parked in the lot and went inside the store. The Escape was parked in the seventh spot in from the parking stalls closet to the entrance of the store. He then came out and observed that the vehicle had been struck on it's rear driver's side quarter panel area. He says the other vehicle had left the scene and no note was left on his vehicle. I observed numerous scrape marks to that mentioned area and I took digital photos of the damage. I also observed two small specks of paint on the damaged area that were a bluish gray type of color from the suspect vehicle. It appears that due to the scrape marks that the unknown vehicle was pulling in to the parking space to the left of the city vehicle. As it was pulling in, it struck the city vehicle with it's front passenger quarter panel area. I spoke to Nick (CVS manager) on the phone and was inquiring about possible surveillance footage of the lot. He stated that he didn't believe the cameras cover that area of the lot but he would look for any possible footage and notify me if so.

MV1 owner states they were alerted by the bouncer at 107R Union St that their vehicle had been hit. Bouncer, Steven Raveri, states he witnessed a BMW back into MV1 in the alley behind Thistle and Leek and then leave the scene. Another worker from Thistle and Leek, Christian McNeill, states he witnessed a BMW back into the Subaru more than once attempting to turn around before leaving the alley. I observed paint damage on the rear end of the Subaru. Steven was able to take a picture of the BMWs plate (NY: MD60330) before it left. I was able to find the vehicles information and two phone numbers for the registered owner. I will be contacting them on my next tour of duty. Traffic Bureau update (Officer Gaudet): On Thursday, May 27, 2021, I was able to make contact with the registered owner of MV2. Mr. Stephen Gorfine (NY: 392 858 797) stated he was operating his 2007 BMW 750 (NY: 60330) at the time and location of the crash. Mr. Gorfine stated he was not aware he was involved in a crash. I explained to Mr. Gorfine that two witnesses observed his vehicle crash into MV1 as it was parked unoccupied. Mr. Gorfine stated he has hit many cars in the past and has been hit himself. Mr. Gorfine did not appear to understand the brevity of causing damage to MV1 and not stopping to attempt to provide his information to the owner. Mr. Gorfine was advised and mailled Massachusetts Uniform Citaton 019187AB for Newton City Ordinance Chapter 19, Section 75 (Failure To Use Care).

On Monday, June 28, 2021, while assigned to Traffic unit N525, I was entering my marked cruiser to leave the parking lot at the rear of 1321 Washington Street, Newton. The rear parking lot of the police station features a public right of access, but is restricted for authorized vehicle. There are signs posted at both entrances to the parking lot stating, "RESTRICTED AREA Newton Police Department Authorized Vehicles Only Beyond This Point. As I entered my cruiser, I observed a red 2020 Jeep Wrangler (CT: AX89516) parked directly across from my cruiser facing Eastbound. This vehicle was not parked in a marked parking spot and was the last vehicle in the parking lot from the Cherry Street entrance on the North side of the lot. I observed that the front bumper of this vehicle made contact with the rear bumper area of a parked 2018 Tesla Model 3 (EV3617 ). I exited my vehicle and walked over to the vehicles to investigate if a crash had occurred. I observed a black male party sitting in the front passenger seat of the Jeep. The driver seat was vacant. The Jeep had its driver door and passenger door windows rolled down. The vehicle was not running and there were no keys in the ignition. As I approached the passenger side door, the male passenger appeared to be asleep and I could detect a moderate odor of alcoholic beverage emanating from the passenger seat area. I woke up the passenger and inquired where the driver of the vehicle was. The passenger identified himself by his Connecticut ID as Masengo Kabongo (#178372788). Mr. Kabongo stated his cousin Marcel was the operator of the vehicle and they had pulled into their current parking spot so Marcel could run an errand. Mr. Kabongo stated he did not know where his cousin was, and he could not locate his phone to contact his cousin. I asked Mr. Kabongo if he was aware he was parked in the Newton Police Station parking lot and that the vehicle he was sitting in crashed into an employee's vehicle parked in front of them. Mr. Kabongo stated he was not aware. Mr. Kabongo appeared to be very confused with the situation and continued to state he did not know why they were there and where his cousin was. The registered owner of the Tesla arrived and assessed the damage to his vehicle. I observed minor damage to the rear bumper area to MV2. There was also minor damage to the front bumper of MV1. The owner of MV2 was able to review footage of the crash from his vehicles exterior surveillance system. While viewing this video with him, I observed MV1 enter the Newton Police Department parking lot from Cherry Street and pull right behind MV2. MV1 appeared to be occupied by two black males at this time. One in the passenger seat and one in the driver seat. MV1's front bumper area is then observed crashing into the rear bumper area of MV2. The Newton Police Department IT Bureau was able to observe the crash from a surveillance camera affixed to the Newton Police Department maintenance garage (facing Cherry Street). The video captures MV1 entering the parking lot and crashing into the rear of MV2. A black male with light colored shorts and a dark T-shirt is observed exiting the driver side door and walking away from the area up Cherry Street (S) to Washington Street. I explained to Mr. Kabongo that the crash was captured on our surveillance system and that his cousin appeared to be the operator. Mr. Kabongo stated his cousin was currently in Newton District Court being arranged for a previous incident (Report #21027283). I looked up recent bookings for NPD and I observed a party matching the name Mr. Kabongo provided. On Friday, June 25, 2021. Mr. Marcel Mengue-Ngoumou was arrested and cited by the Newton Police Department for OUI (Subsequent Offense), Negligent Operation, Marked Lanes, Open Container, and Unlicensed Operation. I contacted the Newton Police Department Court Prosecutor, Officer Hagopian, to see of Mr. Mengue-Ngoumou was still present in Newton District Court. Officer Hagopian stated he contacted the court and Mr. Mengue-Ngoumou was waiting to be arraigned. Myself and Officer Hagopian responded to Newton District Court to try and speak with Mr. Mengue-Ngoumou. Upon entering Session 1 in NDC, the lone individual sitting in the gallery was a party matching the description of the party from the surveillance footage. I spoke with Assistant District Attorney Nathan Stetson who was present in the court room. I apprised him of the current incident that Mr. Mengue-Ngoumou was involved in and told him I was going to speak with him. Mr. Mengue-Ngoumou at this time was sitting on the second to last bench on the left side of Session 1 as you walk into the courtroom. The exit to the courtroom was behind him. I approached Mr. Mengue-Ngoumou from the front of the courtroom and explained to him that I had just spoken to his cousin in the parking lot of the Newton Police Department. I explained to him the vehicle his cousin was sitting in had crashed into a parked vehicle belonging to a Newton Police Department employee. I explained to Mr. Mengue-Ngoumou that his cousin had identified him as the operator of the vehicle. I then asked Mr. Mengue-Ngoumou who was operating the vehicle when they were traveling to court today. Mr. Mengue-Ngoumou stated he was the operator. I asked Mr. Mengue-Ngoumou if he knew he had parked in the Newton Police Department parking lot. Mr. Mengue-Ngoumou stated he did not. I asked Mr. Mengue-Ngoumou if he knew he crashed into a parked vehicle in the parking lot. Mr. Mengue-Ngoumou stated he did not. I asked Mr. Mengue-Ngoumou if he knew he was not supposed to be operating a vehicle because of his incident from the other night and his license being suspended. Mr. Mengue-Ngoumou stated he did. I apprised ADA Stetson to my conversation with Mr. Mengue-Ngoumou. Mr. Mengue-Ngoumou was issued Massachusetts Uniform Citation 054528AB in hand for Chapter 90, Section 23(K) (Operating a MV after suspension, subsequent offense), and Chapter 90, Section 24 (Leaving the Scene of Property Damage). Mr. Mengue-Ngoumou knowingly crashed into MV2, parked his vehicle, took the keys from the ignition, and left the area with out making an effort to contact the owner of MV2. The 2020 Jeep Wrangler from the crash was removed from the Newton Police Department parking lot by Tody's towing. A towed MV form was completed and submitted. Washington Street and Cherry Street are both public ways maintained by the City of Newton.

At approximately 1239HRs on Thursday, 04/07/2022, I was dispatched to 111 Needham St. (McDonald's) for a report of a hit & run crash. Upon arrival, I spoke with the operator of MV1 (MA Pass: 49315), who stated that he was in the restaurant when an unidentified concerned citizen came in and showed them a picture of MV2, after it had struck MV1 and informed them that the operator of said vehicle left the scene without leaving their information. I observed that MV1 sustained damage to its driver's side rear quarter panel, just to the rear of the wheel well. The owner of MV2 (MA Passenger: 313FY9) could not be reached to ascertain their version of events. Newton Dispatched was able to find a phone number for the registered owner, left a message and at the time of writing this report, The Newton Police have not been contacted by them. Additionally, I went to the registered owner's address and no one would answer the door, nor the Ring Video Doorbell, which remotely connects those activating it, to the owner's phone.

The operator of Vehicle 1 states that Vehicle 1 was parked at the airpump in the parking lot behind the Speedway gas station at 2370 Commonwealth Ave when Vehicle 2 backed out of a parking space and made contact with the driver-side rear passenger door of Vehicle 1. The operator of Vehicle 1 tried to make contact with the operator of Vehicle 2 and heard her passenger say something along the lines of "go, go! Get out of here!" Vehicle 2 then drove away. The operator of Vehicle 1 was able to take a picture of Vehicle 2 before it left the area. I observed minor scrapes to the driver side rear quarter panel of Vehicle 1. I contacted the operator of Vehicle 2 by phone who states she was attempting to back out of her parking space but was blocked in by Vehicle 1 and asked the operator of Vehicle 1 to move his car so she could get out. The operator of Vehicle 2 states that the operator of Vehicle 1 told her to try and get out anyway and started putting air in his tires. The operator of Vehicle 2 states that she attempted to back out carefully and didn't feel her vehicle make contact with his vehicle so she left the parking lot. Due to the conflicting statements of the operators I was unable to determine who was at fault.