TOMS RIVER - Toms River Regional Board of Education member Daniel Leonard faces a charge of reckless driving after witnesses said he chased another driver at a high rate of speed, lost control of his truck and skidded off Hooper Avenue, striking a tree, police said.

Leonard, 42, of Beachwood, was also charged with failure to maintain his travel lane following the July 6 accident, according to a police report. The other driver allegedly told police afterward he had feared for his life during the ordeal.

Leonard has disputed the version of events set forth in the police report by Toms River Traffic Safety Officer P.J. Gambardella. The patrolman's report described Leonard as "agitated" and "uncooperative."

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Leonard said he is being represented by lawyer S. Karl Mohel.

In a post on his "Team Leonard" Facebook page, Leonard criticized media accounts of the accident and noted that he was initially agitated at the scene because he had just totaled "a $60,000 truck."

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"I nearly died and was not arrested, had seat belt on, not drinking, full insurance and registration and damaged no property, people or vehicles and Insurance already totaled my vehicle and I already have a new one from the same Toyota Dealership," Leonard wrote. "I held the steering wheel steady and tried to brake numerous times as you can see....but 7500 pounds on wet grass and a gravely (sic) turn won."

A passenger, Christopher McGuire, 45, of Berkeley's Bayville section, was also in the truck at the time of the accident, police said.

According to the police report, Leonard was driving his Toyota truck northbound on Hooper Avenue near the exit ramp from Hooper onto eastbound Bay Avenue, when the vehicle ran off the road.

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The vehicle struck a curb, traveled over a grassy area that separated the exit ramps, crossed over the ramp from eastbound Bay Avenue to northbound Hooper, hit another curb, and skidded down the embankment.

It stopped after striking a tree.

According to the police report, Leonard initially told police that a white Audi sedan had abruptly changed lanes in front of him, to reach the exit ramp, forcing him to skid off the roadway.

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He told police that prior to the accident, he was stopped in the right lane of northbound Hooper when he was was cut off by the Audi, driven by Robert Mason, which had moved over from the center lane.

Leonard said he followed the other car at a normal rate of speed but was cut off again when Mason suddenly swerved onto the exit ramp for eastbound Bay Avenue, forcing Leonard to lose control of his truck.

But three witnesses, according to the police report, said Leonard was driving at a high rate of speed northbound on Hooper and, at some point, began chasing the Audi. One witness said he observed Leonard driving on the right shoulder of Hooper Avenue, passing other vehicles as he chased the Audi near the intersection with Caudina Avenue.

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All three witnesses, according to the police report, said that they saw Mason take a sudden exit onto eastbound Bay Avenue and that when Leonard attempted to follow Mason's car, he lost control of his truck and skidded off the roadway.

Patrolman Gambardella said Leonard's "statement changed several times from the original statement," and noted that Leonard was "agitated and uncooperative with police" during the crash investigation.

Leonard said that he was upset about totaling his truck and had also suffered a facial laceration and an injury to his left leg during the incident.

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Gambardella said "it is believed" that Leonard "became enraged" when Mason's Audi cut him off as the vehicles were about to merge. He said Leonard was travelling at a high rate of speed when the accident happened, as evidenced by the long distance his truck traveled before hitting the tree.

Leonard said Wednesday that he was "in shock" and that he should have been treated for his injuries at the scene of the accident, but Patrolman Gambardella said in his report that both Leonard and his passenger, McGuire, who also suffered facial injuries, refused treatment at the scene. Both later went to Community Medical Center for treatment.

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According to the police report, Mason later told police he was stopped at a red traffic light at the intersection of Edken and Hooper avenues, and was in front of Leonard's truck. When the light changed to green, Mason said Leonard began honking the horn and tailgating him.

Mason said he pulled into the TD Bank parking lot at Hooper and Caudina but that Leonard followed him, so Mason drove back onto Hooper Avenue northbound with Leonard in pursuit. Mason said he increased his speed and even went onto the shoulder of the roadway to pass other cars, but Leonard continued to chase him.

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Mason then swerved onto the exit ramp for eastbound Bay Avenue at a high rate of speed and Leonard skidded off the roadway while trying to follow him. Mason told police he feared for his life during the chase, according to the report. He then went to the police department to report the incident.

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Leonard noted that he's a combat veteran who served as a paratrooper in the U.S. Army's 82nd Airborne Division in Afghanistan, and he's previously told the Press that he is struggling with neurological-related health issues connected to his military service. He said he was in shock when approached by police after the accident.

During his deployment, Leonard said he suffered injuries from multiple explosive blasts, endured several hard landings while making combat jumps and has had other medical problems while boxing during his Army career.

He said he does not recall declining medical treatment at the scene.

Leonard, who represents Beachwood on the nine-member regional school board, was first elected to the board in 2016 and is seeking re-election this year. He is no stranger to controversy.

In July 2017, then-school board member Robert Onofrietti Jr. filed a civil harassment complaint against Leonard, claiming that Leonard had parked his truck outside Onofrietti's Toms River home. The truck had sat idle outside the house for half an hour, with an unidentified man in the passenger seat, according to a police report on the incident.

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Onofrietti claimed Leonard went to his house to "with purpose to harass another," but Leonard said he went to the house out of curiousity, and not to harass a fellow board member.

Leonard produced public records he had obtained that showed the residence had been in foreclosure as late as 2015, with more than $760,000 in liens owed on the property.

At the time, Leonard said he felt Onofrietti's financial issues were a relevant campaign issue in the November school board election as Onofrietti is seeking re-election.

Leonard denied he had done anything unlawful and said he immediately left the neighborhood after he was spotted by the family. Onofrietti dropped the charges a month later after the two men discussed the incident, and said that he considers Leonard a friend.

Last year, former school board member Christopher Raimann filed an ethics complaint against Leonard, claiming Leonard "has repeatedly posted "confidential matters which should not be known to the public" on his Facebook page.

Raimann's complaint was dismissed earlier this year by the School Ethics Commission. Raimann lost his bid for re-election to the board last November.

An ethics complaint filed by the school board against Raimann with the Ethics Commission last year has not yet been decided. The reason for the still-pending complaint has not been publicly disclosed.

Jean Mikle covers Toms River and several other Ocean County towns, and has been writing about local government and politics at the Jersey Shore for nearly 35 years. A finalist for the 2010 Pulitzer Prize in public service, she's also passionate about the Shore's storied music scene. Contact her: @jeanmikle, 732-643-4050, jmikle@gannettnj.com.