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Southold Blotter: Driver dodges squirrel, smashes into two poles

A driver who tried to dodge a squirrel that had darted into the road ended up smashing into two poles, a street sign and a tree when he lost control of his Jeep, according to a Southold Town accident report.

The driver, who is from Centerport, was headed west on Route 25 in Orient around 8 a.m. Saturday when he swerved to avoid hitting the squirrel, police said. His Jeep went off the road, hitting a wooden utility pole and a street sign. It then struck a flagpole on a resident’s lawn before crashing into an arborvitae tree and coming to a halt in the road, police said.

While the Jeep’s fuel tank was punctured in the crash, the driver was unharmed, according to the report. No charges were filed against the driver, who remained at the scene until police arrived.

• A driver who told police he had been drinking earlier in the day fled the scene of a crash Friday night after he collided with a tree and a boat that was being stored, according to a police report.

The man told police he was heading west on Route 25 in Southold when he “passed out” and crashed, flipping his SUV. He fled the scene and was later apprehended by police at his home in Peconic. The man admitted he had been drinking alcohol that day and was on medication, police said.

The police report doesn’t state whether the man was given a sobriety test after he was located by police. He was charged with leaving the scene of an accident, a violation, police said.

• Two people were caught inside a Mattituck home Friday smoking marijuana and posting messages to social media, according to a police report.

A witness came to police headquarters around 6:10 p.m. after he received Snapchat messages from two people inside a house on Breakwater Road in Mattituck. Police arrived and found that both people were in possession of marijuana, officials said.

The pair was initially charged with marijuana possession, a non-criminal violation, according to the police report. An investigation into whether they were trespassing is ongoing.

• Someone vandalized a Southold Town truck in the highway department’s mechanics shop, according to a police report filed last Tuesday.

The vehicle’s windshield was damaged to the tune of $550 sometime between Feb. 17 and Feb. 27, police said. No arrests have been reported in connection with the incident.

• A Greenport man realized he was being scammed via email last Tuesday — but not before handing over $520 to a fraudster, police said.

The man was contacted by someone posing as a Publishers Clearing House representative and informed he had just won $1 million, according to a police report. The scammer told the man he needed to send a money order for $520 in order to accept the prize.

After he did, the victim received another email saying the money was “tied up” and that an additional $4,700 was needed to award him the $1 million. At that point, the victim realized he was being tricked and called the police, officials said.

• A marina owner called police last Monday after she saw people jumping on and off boats at site’s docks around 7 p.m. Police investigated and found a group there who claimed they were shooting a film and had received permission from the owner.

When police called the owner back, she said she knew about the shoot but didn’t think they’d have been at the docks so late. No arrests were reported.

• A Mattituck man received threatening text messages and voicemails from a Nassau County man, according to a police report filed Sunday morning. The victim didn’t want to press charges, but asked that the incident be documented.

• A driver in need of a jump accidentally rolled over the foot of a Southold police sergeant as he tried to help last Monday afternoon, according to a police report.

The sergeant had been trying to attach the cables just outside police headquarters when the car began moving. According to a witness who was instructing the driver, the sedan then ran over the sergeant’s foot. The sergeant wasn’t hospitalized, a police source said.

Those who are named in police reports have not been convicted of any crime or violation. The charges against them may later be reduced or withdrawn, or they may be found innocent.