Car Smashes into Tree in Winchester

[Editor's Note: The following information comes from the Winchester Police Department. When arrests are mentioned, it does not indicate a conviction.]By Mark Ouellette

Car Smashes into Tree in Winchester
At 1:16 p.m. July 16, Winchester police were called to a single-vehicle accident near Yale and Wildwood Streets, according to a police report. The driver of the Chevy Metro involved in the crash allegedly lost control of her steering wheel, possibly due to a defect, went off the road and hit a tree along the right side of the road. The vehicle sustained extensive damage to the front end, undercarriage, windshield and passenger's side and was towed from the scene, according to the report. No transports reported.
July 17

2:13 a.m.: Police patrolled the area of Johnson Road and Wildwood Street and came across a 16-year-old Winchester teen on a bicycle parked on the sidewalk of Robinhood Drive, according to a police report. Recently, police had learned that teens on bicycles may have been involved with the rash of car break-ins recently reported by residents.

An officer asked the teen his name and address, and on multiple occasions he lied to police, stating the names of two boys known to the officer who also knew their address, according to the report.

The teen, who appeared intoxicated, was taken into protective custody after he reportedly snuck out of his house around 11:30 July 16, met friends and had at least three beers and some whiskey. The teen allegedly used the bike of another teen without them knowing, so police stated that it could be deemed stolen and put it into the police garage until they could determine who it belonged to, according to the report. Police estimated the value of the bike to be more than $550 based on the cost of the frame alone, according to the report. The mostly black bike had some orange features including handle bars, peddles and rims, the report adds.

4:35 p.m.: Police responded to Plato Terrace on a report of a larceny, according to a police report. The homeowner told police that sometime between 8 p.m. July 16 and 4:30 p.m. July 17 that his mailbox and mailbox post were pulled out of the ground and stolen, according to the report. The mailbox was described as being one foot-by-two feet, secured to a four-foot post that was buried deep in the ground and a couple feet from the road, the report adds. The homeowner intended to report the missing mailbox to the Winchester Post Office on July 18.