ONLY ON 3: Brian Berger had no insurance during car crash, avoided victim

WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — A week after being arrested on domestic violence charges, New Hanover County Commissioner Brian Berger showed up 15 minutes late to an agenda briefing Thursday. But Angela Lilly was there early to see him.

Lilly was the driver involved in a fender-bender with Berger Tuesday afternoon. After the accident she found out from Berger’s insurance company that the Jeep he was driving was uninsured. Lilly, who like Berger is unemployed, now does not know how she or Berger will pay for repairs to her car.

Berger told WWAY he had insurance for the BMW he used to drive, but did not switch the insurance to the Jeep until after the accident.

“I can’t believe he hasn’t at least called to check to see if I was ok,” said Lilly. “He hasn’t even contacted his insurance company to even report it, so it just makes me think that he’s really just trying to hide something.”

Lilly says Berger has not returned her calls about the accident, which is why she showed up to the meeting. Berger said his attorney advised him not to return the calls.

The accident report from Tuesday also says the home addresses Berger and Lilly gave the investigating officer are not the same addresses that are on their respective driver licenses. Berger, though, has used the address he gave the officer at least as far back as October 2005.

The insurance issue is the latest in a series of missteps by the Republican elected to the commission last fall. Fellow commissioners said following Berger’s arrest last week that he needs to get focused and avoid any more distractions from county business.