Crime & Safety

Newtown Township Police Log: "Coughing Fit" Causes Accident

Recent activity as reported by the Newtown Township Police

Wednesday, Feb. 23

The owner of a building on Friends Lane reported that one of the doors to the building was damaged when someone attempted to pry the door to the sprinkler room open.  The damage was minor, police said.

Thursday, Feb. 24

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A resident of Society Place reported fraudulent activity on her credit card.  The situation remains under investigation, police said. 

Shortly after 12:00 p.m. officials at Council Rock High School North reported to police that a student was in possession of 17 prescription pills. The student was in possession of four different prescriptions, police said. The 18 year-old Newtown Township Resident will face criminal charges for the possession.

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Police met with a resident of Washington Crossing Road after he reported that he had observed a vehicle parked on the shoulder of the road near Saxony Drive.  The caller told police that he had confronted two adult males, who were walking nearby. They told him that they were looking for antlers shed by deer.  The subjects left the area after the confrontation.  

At approximately 3:40 p.m., police stopped a motorist on Swamp Road near the entrance to Tyler State Park for an expired inspection sticker. After making contact with the driver of the car, a 17 year-old male, it was determined that there was marijuana in the vehicle.  The passengers in the car were picked up at the scene by a friend and the juvenile, a Newtown Township resident, was taken to police headquarters.  His mother was notified to respond to police headquarters, where the teen was released to her.

Friday, Feb. 25

Police were dispatched at approximately 9:15 a.m. to a business located on Terry Drive for a report of a theft that occurred overnight.  An employee reported that when reviewing the security tapes for the outside of the building, it was discovered that during the early morning hours of Thursday, Feb. 24, a male subject was seen backing a pick-up truck up to the loading dock, getting out of the vehicle, and taking metal from the scrap bin.  It is estimated that the subject took about $500 worth of scrap metal from the bin without authorization from the owner.  The situation remains under investigation.   

A motorist traveling southbound on Second Street Pike around 1:30 p.m. Friday reported that debris blew out of a truck on the road in front of her.  The debris struck the side mirror on her car, causing damage.  The victim was able to provide police with the name of the company that owned the truck.  The responding officer contacted the company and advised them to contact the victim.  

Police responded to a report of several juveniles fighting in the area between the rear of Acme and Council Rock High School North just after 4 p.m.  The crowd dispersed upon the arrival of police. 

The manager of 7-11 reported that around 8 p.m., a male subject entered the store and asked to purchase a pack of cigarettes.  When the clerk put the cigarettes on the counter for the man, described as being in his early 20s and heavy set, simply picked up the tobacco products and walked out of the store without paying for them. The situation remains under investigation.

Saturday, Feb. 26

Around 12:00 p.m., an employee of Subway turned over a credit card to police.  The employee explained that a customer left the card at the store earlier in the day.  The officer contacted the credit card company and at their direction destroyed the card.

Sunday, Feb. 27

A 44 year-old Philadelphia man was driving a commercial vehicle on Washington Crossing Road near Eldridge Road around 1:40 a.m., when he told police he “had a coughing fit” and ran off the road, striking two utility poles.  Both poles were sheared off, causing a transformer to fall as well. The driver was uninjured, however the vehicle's trailer was wrapped around the second pole.  Police had to shut down the road from Saxony Road to Linton Hill Road until PECO arrived and deemed the area safe.  The truck was heavily damaged and was towed from the scene.  

Also Sunday, police were dispatched to the area of the 2500 block of Society Place for a report of a vehicle parked in the middle of the lot around 11:00 a.m.  When the officer arrived, he discovered a black Acura in the middle of the travel portion of the lot. The car appeared to have drifted out of a parking space.   The officer was able to push the car because the manual transmission was not in gear and the parking brake wasn't fully engaged. The owner was contacted and advised of the situation. 


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