Police and court briefs Police: Lorain man lies about crash

A 19-year-old Lorain man is accused of fabricating his story in relation to a car crash in the early morning hours of Aug. 15, according to a police report.

Dominique Smith, 19, of Lorain, is charged with one count of obstructing official business.

At about 2:33 a.m., Lorain police responded to a traffic crash near the intersection of East 33rd Street and Clinton Avenue, the report states. According to the report: Officers discovered a heavily damaged Ford F-150 unoccupied in the front yard of a residence in the 1900 block of East 33rd. The vehicle came to a rest two to three doors down from its original parking spot and sustained heavy rear-end damage.

An unoccupied Pontiac Grand Prix with heavy damage was spotted across the street from the Ford in an open field.

A passing motorist told police they saw the Pontiac driving at a high rate of speed on East 33rd Street before hearing a loud crash. Moments following the crash the motorist reported seeing a male running toward Oakwood Park.

About 20 minutes into the investigation, police encountered Smith who was driving a Ford Taurus down East 32nd Street at a high rate of speed before arriving to the scene of the crash on East 33rd Street.

Smith told police the Pontiac belonged to his family and arrived after receiving a call about the crash. Police stated Smith refused to provide additional details about the crash when pressed by officers, before retreating to his vehicle and leaving the area.

A few minutes later Smith was stopped again by Lorain police, providing them a completely different story, stating that while driving down East 32nd Street he could see the crash scene from a distance and stopped believing the Pontiac belonged to a friend.

Due to the darkness and lack of visibility in the area making it difficult to clearly see the vehicle, police believe Smith was withholding information about the crash, leading them to believe both stories to be fabrications, the report said.

When contacted by police dispatch on the afternoon of Aug. 15, the owner of the Pontiac stated he had no connection to Smith and was unaware of the crash up until this point.