Great Barrington — Police and authorities in Egremont and Hillsdale, New York, are working together on a joint investigation into an automobile theft in Great Barrington in which the suspect was later involved in two crashes in Egremont before finally crashing a third time in Hillsdale, police Chief Bill Walsh said in a statement.
On Monday morning around 6 a.m., Egremont police officer Matthew O’Sullivan responded to a reported two-vehicle crash on Sheffield Road. He found damage to fencing and a plant at 14 Sheffield Road. A witness told him that a Subaru and a truck had been traveling side by side and apparently struck one another before causing the property damage.
Within minutes, O’Sullivan was also notified of another crash at 240 Egremont Plain Road. The property owner told O’Sullivan he saw a Subaru strike his mailbox and a bush without stopping. Around 7 a.m. the Columbia County Sheriff’s Office in New York notified authorities in Massachusetts that a damaged vehicle matching the wanted car had crashed into a culvert in Hillsdale.
The registration came back to the Great Barrington stolen car. The operator, Ann Marie Formel-Woodger, 27, of Bernard Gibbons Drive in Housatonic, was injured and taken to Columbia Memorial Hospital after being found in a nearby field. The Columbia County Sheriff’s Office charged her with several motor vehicle violations.
O’Sullivan has charged Formel-Woodger with a marked lanes violation; two counts of leaving the scene of an accident; negligent operation of a motor vehicle; and operating after suspension.
Also on Monday morning, the vehicle owner, who lives on Bridge Street, notified Great Barrington police of his car being taken overnight from his driveway. Investigating Great Barrington officer Samuel Stolzar is working with the other two agencies and will be bringing charges against Formel-Woodger in connection with stealing the car.
