The Lapeer Community School Board began their meeting tonight by announcing their support for Superintendent Matt Wandrie.
Even after the 7 Investigators aired video from the Lake Inn showing the schools chief smashing two parked cars and fleeing the scene. A violation of state law which clearly says one has to stop immediately and locate the owner, or if unable, call police to report it. Otherwise, it's a misdemeanor.
"That was not just a tap, he smashed into a car and took off pretty fast," said attorney Mike Morse, who reviewed the video for us.
"He's not allowed to do that, that's breaking the law," says morse. "You don't just smash into a car like that, take off and pretend nothing happened."
Wandrie returned a short time later, parking elsewhere, never checking the damage to the other vehicles. It wasn't until the bar turned over the tape to authorities he was located days later and written a ticket for careless driving.
One of the vehicles was totaled, according to the owner, who sent us pictures of his front end damage. That owner, a band member playing that night says he never heard any announcement about his or another car being hit.
The police report shows deputies asked Wandrie days later if he had too much to drink. He said, "absolutely not".
The 7 Investigators have obtained a letter from a local attorney present that night alleging otherwise, demanding the prosecutor take a more serious look at the case.
At the very least, Wandrie's letter to parents downplaying the incident as a minor "fender bender" begs a better explanation given the video. We gave Wandrie a chance tonight.
"We feel the matter has been resolved," he said.
When asked if he believes this was more than a fender bender after watching the video, he replied, "I don't."
When we asked him if he felt he broke state law, he walked out of the interview.
When we approached the president of the school board, he said because authorities didn't charge Wandrie, they consider it case closed.
