Lakewood Mayor Ray Coles responds to your ‘Ask The Mayor’ questions: A frightening incident

The following is an ‘Ask The Mayor’ question submitted to TLS, and the Mayor’s response. Email your questions for the Mayor to [email protected].

Question:

Hi,

Thank you for your service to our community.

This afternoon (9/16) we had a very frightening incident. A car jumped the curb, smashed into our car parked in the driveway, hit a neighbors bushes, and then smashed into another vehicle before coming to a stop. The police arrived and the individual responsible was arrested, It turned out he was drunk, had no license and was driving a car with fake plates as well an expired registration. (It seems he had no insurance either and repairing the damage will be costly.) We are grateful to LPD for their quick response time and their helpful attitude towards us–but we were floored when the individual was spotted back at the crime scene (Ridge Fourth Street) less than an hour after the arrest! (Apparently he lives in the neighborhood). He even stuck out his tongue at a group of children discussing the crash which made them very uncomfortable.

The block where the incident occurred was full of children playing outside and it is a miracle that no one was hurt. What I cannot understand is why a man who broke multiple laws (drunk driving, fake plates, no registration, no license, no insurance) and could’ve killed someone was let free after less than an hour, before the alcohol even had a chance to wear off. It made us feel very unsafe.

Please advise,

Response from Mayor Coles:

I spoke with the Chief & Captain Allaire about this when I received your email. After the person was processed at headquarters, someone bailed him out and took responsibility for him. There were no other incidents with him other than this one, and the law does not allow us to keep him in custody. Captain Allaire assured me he would increase patrols in the area. Hopefully after the gentleman reflects on his actions and the steep penalties which await him in court, this behavior will not be repeated.

Ray

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Have a question for the Mayor? Send it to [email protected]

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