WESTFIELD – A man who allegedly crashed a stolen car into a utility pole on North Road has been charged after he apparently dropped his wallet in the car before he fled on foot after the accident.
City police report that multiple callers reported at 3:24 p.m. Tuesday that a car had crashed into a utility pole and one caller stated that the operator, an Hispanic man with a ponytail, had walked away from the crash.
Another caller provided the registration number of the pickup truck which stopped for the operator as he walked toward Wyben.
Southampton police subsequently reported that they had stopped the pickup truck in their town. A city officer who responded to speak with the operator of that vehicle learned that the driver had previously dropped off the hitchhiker he had picked up in Westfield.
Officer Jamie Campbell asked that Holyoke police be requested to attempt to contact the owner of the 1994 Honda Accord and learned that Holyoke police were already in contact with the owner who was reporting that her car had been stolen. She told police that she had left her keys in her car while she briefly left it unattended and found it gone upon her return.
The investigating officer reports that, before the car was towed to the police impound yard, a wallet was found in it and the suspect was thus identified.
A criminal complaint was filed.
