By SANDY McGEE

BELLINGHAM — Marsha Bish, ex-wife of former Woonsocket Police Chief Michael L.A. Houle, was issued a traffic citation by Bellingham police on Saturday after the car she was operating apparently struck a wooden fence and left the accident scene, said police. No injuries were reported in the crash.

Bish, 32, of 12 Central Boulevard, Bellingham, has been cited for leaving the scene of an accident with property damage and failure to stay in marked lanes, said Lt. Kevin Ranieri of the Bellingham Police Department. She will be summoned to appear in Milford District Court at a later date.
A Bellingham patrol officer discovered damages to a fence on Saturday at approximately 3:18 a.m. in front of the residence at 31 Central Boulevard, according to the lieutenant.
“One of the officers observed three sections of a five-foot wooden fence destroyed at a residence on Central Boulevard,” Ranieri said.
The vehicle’s license plate, which had apparently fallen off during the crash, and paint from the car was discovered at the scene, according to police. Based on fresh tire tracks in the snow, the officer determined the vehicle was traveling east on California Avenue, said the lieutenant.
“It looks like it (the vehicle) veered in the opposite lane and struck the fence,” Ranieri said. “He (the officer) ended up locating the vehicle at 12 Central Boulevard and there was an indication that this was the vehicle based on gray paint from the wooden fence.”
According to Ranieri, the officer spoke to Bish who reported she had talked to the fence’s owner. Bish was operating a 2006 gray Cadillac at the time of the collision.
The lieutenant said that speed was not a factor in the crash. There was also no indication that the driver was operating under the influence, according to police.
Winter weather conditions may have played a part in the incident.
“It might have been snowy out,” Ranieri said. “There were slippery roads.”
Bish has been the topic of several recent news reports.
Her ex-husband, Woonsocket Police Chief Michael L.A. Houle, resigned from the department on Monday in response to allegations that he helped Bish move up on a list of candidates for an appointment within the department. Bish joined the department in 2004, when she and Houle were still married.
Woonsocket’s Deputy Chief of Police Richard Dubois reportedly packed up his office on Tuesday.
Both Houle and Dubois are named in charges of changing Bish’s test results. The charges are currently under the investigation of the department’s internal affairs officer Lt. Marc Turcotte.
Bish reportedly resigned from her position as patrolwoman for the Woonsocket Police Department last Friday. She was previously out on disciplinary suspension for another issue, according to reports.