Mystery 9-1-1 Call Thursday Morning Raises Questions About Person Reporting An Accident

Marlinton, WV – At 9:50am this morning, Division of Highways employees working on Buckeye Hill called in to 9-1-1 to report a three-vehicle accident. Apparently, a driver passing through the work site told the DOH employees there had been an accident. Marlinton fire and EMS units and Pocahontas County Sheriff’s officers responded to the scene but discovered no accident.

CPT Troy McCoy of the Pocahontas County Sheriff’s Office responded to the scene and said there were two possibilities. The person who reported the accident was either mistaken, or lied to the DOH employees about a crash having occurred. McCoy said a false report of an accident would be a crime – False Report of an Emergency Incident.

A DOH flagman said a driver in a pickup truck, traveling southbound on Route 219, was the person who reported the accident to DOH. The flagman described the incident as a “hoax.”
CPT McCoy said the Sheriff’s Department is unclear whether the incorrect report was intentional or a mistake, but that the department would investigate if they had reason to believe a crime had occurred.

False Report of an Emergency Incident is a misdemeanor in West Virginia, punishable by a maximum fine of $500 or a maximum six months in jail, or both.