New Boston Councilman Resigns After Public OVI Incident
On Wednesday, January 13th, our social media page began to surge with troubling images of a Chevy Suburban that had left the road and crashed into cars in the parking lot of Bob Evans. It wasn’t until 6 days later that we were able to obtain some public statements about this incident.
A 1999 Chevy Suburban driven by New Boston Village councilman, Vonald Patrick, left the road, went up the embankment, and struck cars that were parked in front of the New Boston Bob Evans restaurant. As we waited who are the official crash report to be filed, we were able to obtain information and additional pictures from witnesses at the scene. That official crash report is still not available for reasons that will be explained further down.
Exclusive Eye Witness Account
We went to eat at Bob Evans in new Boston last week. Maybe around 6. We sat down and ordered. We were sitting in a booth at the front of the restaurant with a window looking out into the parking lot. Suddenly Vonald ramps up the slope and smashes into a car next to ours which then hits our car. We saw it happen in real-time. I immediately ran outside. A woman was screaming and crying in a car a bit further down the road. She said her neck was injured. Several people were at the scene. Me and another guy went to Vonald’s vehicle. He was swaying in his seat. His eyes kept rolling back in his head. We opened the door and the fumes of alcohol were so strong my eyes watered. You could smell it from 20 ft away. Beer cans were on his floor and at least one fell out of the car.
Vonald looked to be holding a cigarette. His hands still on the wheel. We tried to talk to him and at first, he would respond but incoherently. For example, we would ask if he was ok and he would mumble and then his eyes would roll back in his head and he would shake and go unconscious. He was totally intoxicated. A lady standing by called the cops. Another guy said he had been following Vonald because he had hit a parked car. The woman in the car who was injured said she was turning out of the Walmart lot when he hit her from behind.
Vonald sat in the car coming in and out of consciousness but he never moved. His hands stayed on the steering wheel. Eventually, the police, ambulance and fire department got there. They tried to talk to him but at this point, he was not responding. They inspected the site and checked on the injured woman who declined to take an ambulance. They talked to me and the guy who owned the vehicle that got hit beside me. He had been outside the restaurant when it happened and saw it happen as I did. They kept trying to get Vonald to wake up by talking to him and they inspected the inside of his vehicle.
They administered Narcan to him in case he had overdosed. They didn’t seem sure if he was on drugs. They eventually pulled him out of the vehicle and loaded him into an ambulance. One cop stayed at the scene and took insurance info from us. I asked when I could get the accident report and he said 2-5 days.
Children Involved
During our interviews, we asked if there were any children involved. One of the witnesses gave this statement.
“My children were with me and both were traumatized. My 9-year-old daughter had a severe panic attack and had to see a counselor the next day. She was so worried that if we had just been a little later getting there we would have been hit. Seeing the cars really scared both my kids.”
Questions for the Villiage Administration
During the regularly scheduled meeting of the New Boston Village Administration, we asked several specific questions. Those questions were largely ignored by the members. Instead, some members gave more of a summary statement. You can see the meeting and its entirety along with our specific questions and how they were handled by clicking here.
Our questions:
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- When was each member of the council, including the Mayor, Village Administrator, and Solicitor, made aware of the Vonald Patrick situation?
In simple terms, who knew about it and when? - When was Mr. Patrick removed from the council? Under what cause did the Village cite his termination?
- At 6 pm today, I checked again for a crash report. It is still not available, however, a wreck from yesterday in New Boston is. What is the delay? There are other families involved that are waiting for this report to turn in to their insurance companies.
- A crash report and any legal issues resulting are different issues. Why are the victims of Mr. Patrick’s actions unable to file their insurance claims until he completes the judicial process? These people are working people and did not create this problem. Why is their ability to fix their property being held up?
- When was each member of the council, including the Mayor, Village Administrator, and Solicitor, made aware of the Vonald Patrick situation?
The responses
Mayor Junior Williams said Mr. Patrick resigned today (01/19/21). He emphasized that he “was not terminated but resigned on his own through an agreement with the solicitor”
The Village Solicitor Justin Blume said, “We’ve worked out a deal with former Councilman Patrick that he will plead of No Contest to an OVI as set forth in (his) resignation letter”.
Councilman Jon Mills said he was “embarrassed and kind of angry about what’s going on”. Mills continued by saying he has a “lot of question marks with the situation.” In addition, he asked New Boston Police Chief Goins about the time frame it took to issue an OVI ticket and was it typical to take six days to issue a citation. Chief Goins said it was a part of their investigation process and did not disclose any further details.
Councilman Fetty stated, “I, reluctantly, want to accept the resignation of Mr. Patrick”.
When asked about the delay in releasing the crash report so the other parties involved could file insurance claims, Cheif Goins stated the reports are completed and can be picked up. Solicitor Blume quickly interjected and firmly stated that no copy of the report can be released until the case is completed in Municipal Court.
To Be Continued
According to the Portsmouth Municipal Court Calendar, the Patrick case is not currently on any docket this month. So, the victims of his actions can’t move forward with insurance claims until the case is “completed in Municipal Court”.
Update
After our initial report was released this morning, New Boston Councilman Jon Mills took to Facebook to make additional comments. Here is that statement from Councilman Mills.
Update 01/25/21
In a quick meeting of Village Council this evening, two items were made clear. First, there have been no new applications received by the Mayor to fill the vacancy of Councilman Patrick.
The larger story was a motion made by Councilman Jon Mills. He said, ” I want to make a motion that we employ an independent counsel to investigate pending allegations against the chief of police, as well as investigate the current investigation of what’s going on with the Patrick incident.”
The motion had a second and then, by a roll call vote, the council approved the motion. There were no dissentient votes.
Of course, since the motion was just approved, there are no details regarding who may be serving as an independent investigator.
In a decision that was made public after the meeting, Police Chief Steve Goins was put on an indefinite paid Administrative Leave. The Village Council further extended the desire to hire an interim Chief of Police while the process plays out.
The Village assured the citizens that police operations would not be interrupted during this, very public, turmoil within the administration.