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2007 ends with a bang — sort of
Editor's note: Police reporter Alexandra Bogdanovic rode with Sgt. R.E. Wines on New Year's Eve.
There weren't any significant incidents on New Year's Eve, but that didn't mean Fauquier County deputies weren't busy.
Dispatchers fielded 104 calls for service between 6 p.m. Dec. 31 and 2 a.m. Jan. 1. And that's pretty much what Sgt. R.E. Wines expected as he worked his last shift of 2007.
"It's usually pretty quiet early — but then it gets busier around midnight," Wines said
Shortly after 8 p.m., Wines left the sheriff's office and drove south from Warrenton towards Balls Mill Road, where police and firefighters were already on the scene of a residential structure fire.
Just as he got there, dispatchers advised him about a one-car crash in the 5300 block of Ritchie Road. The driver reportedly emerged from the wreck unscathed, but the car had landed in "some water," according to the initial dispatch.
While Wines and another deputy were en route, a state trooper assigned to the Area 12 Office in Warrenton arrived on the scene. He confirmed over the radio that the driver was okay and said he would conduct the accident investigation.
Wines decided to go to the scene to see if he could help out. He arrived to find that fire and rescue units were also there. Aside from that, there was little to indicate that anything serious had happened.
A small red car sat in a small grassy area facing U.S. 17. Upon conferring with the trooper, Wines said the motorist had been coming down Ritchie Road when the car went off the road, through a field and hit a pole. It continued through the field and jumped a small creek before coming to rest.
The driver reportedly told the trooper that bright lights from another vehicle had caused her to go off the road. Wines surmised that the car had to be going pretty quickly in order to clear the creek. The speed limit is 45 mph.
Wines volunteered to stay at the scene while the trooper went to the hospital to conduct follow-up interviews with the driver. As soon as the car was loaded onto the wrecker, he resumed routine patrol of the southern and central parts of the county.
He cruised through the parking lot at the Remington Lions Club, then up to Dumfries Road, where two other deputies were dispatched on a report of a domestic dispute.
From there, Wines drove back south to Sumerduck Road where a citizen reported hearing a "suspicious noise." The man was waiting outside when the sergeant arrived in the area.
"I don't know what it was, or where it came from, but it was so loud I thought I would find a plane in my back yard," the complainant said. "I feel stupid for calling," he added.
Wines guessed the noise could have come from an event at the nearby Inn at Kelly's Ford, but reassured the man that he did the right thing.
"That's what we're here for," Wines told him.
As Wines prepared to check the area, Sgt. Andy Marshall also arrived on the scene. The complainant shared his story with Marshall, who also reassured him that he was right to call.
"We're getting these types of reports all over the county," Marshall said.
The next couple of hours passed uneventfully. But as Wines had anticipated the number of calls increased after midnight.
He was still in the central part of the county when dispatchers advised him of an assault in the Marshall area. The victim had allegedly been hit in the head after breaking up a fight.
An ambulance also responded to the scene, and the victim was taken to the hospital to be checked out as a precautionary measure. Even so, the incident did not seem to be as serious as initially indicated.
From Marshall, Wines went back to the Warrenton area for a report of a fight in progress at a local bar. The group had dispersed by the time police arrived, but Wines didn't think the fight was really over.
"I have a feeling we'll be back here again," he said.
E-mail the reporter: abogdanovic@timespapers.com .
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