PORTLAND, IN — A crash report that Jay County sheriff’s deputies said was bogus has led to a perjury charge against a Dunkirk woman.
The charge, a Level 6 felony carrying up to 30 months in prison, was filed Dec. 11 in Jay Superior Court against Elyse K. Hudson, 38.
According to court documents, Hudson on Dec. 6 struck and damaged a utility pole when driving on Jay County Road 400 South near County Road 700 West.
She then allegedly fled from the scene of that crash.
Later that day, an affidavit said, Hudson told authorities a hit-and-run driver had struck and damaged her car while it was parked outside her home in the 300 block of West Commerce Street in Dunkirk.
In a signed statement, she reported she had been preparing to leave for Portland and went inside to retrieve her phone when the other vehicle struck her car.
A deputy noted he found “no debris around the vehicle to support her claim of being struck at that location.”
The deputy reported Hudson eventually admitted she had struck the utility pole and fled because she was “scared.”
“Hudson was advised she had been given multiple opportunities to tell the truth,” he wrote. “She subsequently provided a written confession.”
The Dunkirk woman was released after posting bond at the Jay County Jail. A trial date in her case has not yet been set.
Court records reflect no prior charges against Hudson.
Douglas Walker is a news reporter for The Star Press. Contact him at 765-213-5851 or at dwalker@muncie.gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Muncie Star Press: Deputies: Bogus crash report leads to perjury charge against Dunkirk woman
Reporting by Douglas Walker, Muncie Star Press / Muncie Star Press
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