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Driver confesses to hitting speed trailer
by Johnny Whitfield, Wake Weekly Associate Editor
Robert Stephen Mack is honest or smart ... or perhaps both.
Mack, 41, 1113 Washhouse Lane, was cited Dec. 22 for leaving the scene of an accident the previous night. He was cited in connection with a minor traffic accident that took out the department's speed trailer. Police didn't have to work hard to find who had run over their speed trailer because Mack turned himself in. "I'm an honest person and it was an honest mistake. I didn't think it was all that bad. In the morning I went back down there and realized it was a little worse than I thought," Mack said. According to police reports, Mack came to the police station on the morning of Dec. 22 and told police he had hit the trailer the night before. "He told me he started drinking around 6:30 p.m. and stopped drinking around 11 p.m. and that he had at least six beers .... Once he hit the speed trailer he called a friend to come pick him up. Mr. Mack stated he left the bar just after having his last beer and that he should not have been driving," Off. B.D. Amos said in her report. After Mack turned himself in the next morning, he submitted to a blood alcohol test. His blood alcohol level was .01, well below the legal limit of .08. The speed trailer, which is placed on the side of the road and displays the speed of oncoming vehicles, has been used in a variety of locations throughout town. When Mack hit it, the trailer was on Rogers Road. According to Off. David Hess' report, Mack also clipped two road signs before hitting the speed trailer. Damage to the trailer was estimated at $600. Workers at the town shop were repairing the machine this week, and it is expected to be available for use soon. Mack was up front about the accident. "You know I'm a bartender and I've never had anything like this happen before. When I hit it, I was like 'Oh, no! Geez,'" Mack said. After Mack talked to police the next morning, he said his embarrassment over the matter grew. "The officer was just as nice as she could be, but she asked me if I knew that what I had hit was police property and I thought 'Oh, great. It had to belong to the police department,'" Mack said. Mack said nothing was hurt but his pride. "I'm single. I just moved here. Now I'm afraid I'll never get a date."
Last Updated On: January 5, 2006
Copyright 2006 The Wake Weekly