NMUSD Trustee Ashley Anderson Revealed to Have Plead Guilty to Hit and Run Car Accident on Night She was Sworn in

Trustee Ashley Anderson, re-elected to the Newport‑Mesa Unified School District Board in 2022, pleaded guilty to a hit-and-run crash dating December 13, 2022—an incident that followed her swearing-in and joins an earlier DUI conviction in her past.

On the night of December 13, 2022, Newport-Mesa Unified School District Trustee Ashley Anderson was sworn in for a second term and elevated to board president. Hours later, around 10 p.m., she allegedly ran a red light at Placentia Avenue and Victoria Street in Costa Mesa, broadsided another driver, sending the other vehicle spinning at least once before pinned against the center median facing the wrong direction. Anderson then allegedly fled the scene.

According to the Costa Mesa Police Department report 22-019485, officers arrived to find Anderson’s vehicle abandoned and heavily damaged, with her driver’s license and district identification badge left inside.

Witnesses told police she exited the car and was picked up by a driver in a gray Honda CR-V before leaving the area. The case was referred to the Orange County District Attorney’s Office, which filed charges under California Vehicle Code § 20002(a).

Court records indicate that Anderson pleaded guilty on July 17, 2024, in Orange County Superior Court case number 23WM11764. The plea stemmed from the same incident that occurred within hours of her swearing-in ceremony.

While it is unclear why she ran from the scene, she does have a history of drinking and driving.

In 2004, Anderson was convicted of driving under the influence in case 04HM06557, where filings list her blood-alcohol content at .25 percent, more than three times the legal limit.

The revelations have reignited concerns about Anderson’s judgment and fitness for office. Her criminal history surfaced amid ongoing turmoil within the Newport-Mesa school board, where Anderson and fellow progressive trustees Leah Ersoylu and Michelle Murphy have drawn criticism for boycotting meetings and opposing the reinstatement of OC GRIP, a gang-intervention program supported by teachers, law enforcement, and the Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer.

Despite the severity of the crash and her public position, the docket for the 2022 collision indicates only a “Sentence Suspended” disposition—no probation or jail term appears recorded.