Chatham Man Left Scene of 2 Crashes, Cops Say

A Chatham man faces several charges after allegedly leaving the scene of two accidents over the weekend, Chatham Township Police said.

Owen Weed, 31, was charged early Saturday morning with two counts each of leaving the scene of an accident, failure to report an accident, failure to exhibit documents, careless driving and driving with no liability insurance.

Officer Kevin Johnson investigated the scene of an accident at 25 Hickory Place after receiving a report a vehicle struck one of the buildings and left the scene, according to a statement from Lt. Steven Hennelly. Johnson found a vehicle connected to the accident parked near the building Saturday morning at about 5:40 a.m.

While investigating the accident on Hickory Place, Sgt. Thomas Miller identified the scene of another accident on Shunpike Road in front of Shunpike Field. Miller determined a vehicle left the roadway and struck an electrical box and a telephone pole before leaving the scene, police said.

According to Hennelly, the driver left his front license plate behind when he left the scene of the accident on Shunpike Road. The registered owner for the license plate was traced back to Weed, Hennelly said. The plate belonged to the same vehicle he was driving when he struck the building on Hickory Place, Hennelly said.

Weed is scheduled to appear in municipal court in February.