Newport-Mesa Unified School District Trustee Ashley Anderson, in responding this week to public accusations that she covered up a Dec. 13, 2022, hit-and-run crash and was not held accountable by her fellow board members, said she takes responsibility for her actions, but remains committed to serving the families of the community.
“In 2022, I was involved and injured in a traffic accident,” she posted on social media. “I made a mistake in how I responded in that moment. I deeply regret and took full responsibility under the law. The case resulted in a misdemeanor related to vehicle property damage, which has since been resolved and is in the process of being dismissed.”
According to a complaint filed on July 17, 2024, in Orange County Superior Court, Anderson acknowledged that she failed to immediately exchange information with the other driver after the crash.
Anderson said in her post that while she did not publicly address the crash at the time, “I now understand how the absence of information has created space for speculation and inaccurate assumptions.”
“I did not put any person in danger,” she added, and said she’s been transparent and cooperative throughout the legal process, with those closest to the situation, which includes law enforcement and district leadership.
At this week’s Newport-Mesa school board meeting, several speakers, including former Newport Beach mayor and current chair of the Orange County Republican Party Will O’Neill, criticized the board for not disclosing information about the misdemeanor and called on Anderson to resign.
Phil Stemler a graduate of Corona del Mar High School who ran for a trustee seat in 2024 and is also a San Bernardino deputy district attorney, posted information about the crash on X on Nov. 6 and later on Substack, raising questions about the circumstances of the crash, which he points out happened a few hours after Anderson was sworn in for her second term on the school board and chosen by its members to serve the next year as the board president.
The posts appear to be the first public discussion of the crash and Stemler encouraged community members to “call on NMUSD Trustee Ashley Anderson to explain her actions” at the board meeting.
“Trustee Anderson’s hit-and-run accident is not being taken seriously by you,” said Wendy Leese, a Costa Mesa candidate for mayor in 2020 and past trustee of NMUSD. “It’s unethical; you all are responsible for holding her accountable. Have you helped restore her in the last few years in closed session? It is a personnel issue because she does work for the district.”
“Do you think her actions, by leaving the scene of the accident, represent a good role model for our students?” Leese said, adding that she has known Anderson for 40 years and recognized that she has done alot for the district. “But, it’s time she resigns for the good of the district. There should be no exception for her to stay for her own well-being.”
Another man asked that the board “investigate this.”
“It happened after she was with all of you and sworn in as president,” he said. “If this were a high school athlete, you’d take the ball away. You’d bench him. You don’t make him the team captain. You guys have to do your job.”
District officials on Thursday said they have no comment other than that they are aware of the “reported incident and that after review by legal counsel, it has been determined that this matter falls outside the district’s roles, responsibilities, and jurisdiction,” said spokesperson Annette Franco.
Anderson responded to the public during this week’s meeting, saying she “categorically denied the assumptions and the demands that were made.”
“I’m only forced to respond right now because the comments are distracting us from our very important work on behalf of the students,” she said. “While I made a mistake in that moment, I took full responsibility. I’m working through the dismissal process now.”
What led to her leaving the scene of the crash, she added in a statement to the newspaper on Thursday, was that at the time she was “in shock and injured.”
“I felt in fear and unsafe while stuck in a dangerous intersection with a demobilized car,” she said. “And, I made the regrettable decision to leave. I’m profoundly grateful that the other party involved in the accident was not seriously injured.”
Staff Writer Sean Emery contributed to this report.