AUSTINTOWN — A Boardman woman told police she panicked after crashing her vehicle in a ditch, saying it was stolen to avoid a possible operating a vehicle intoxicated charge.

Amanda Lichnerowicz, 33, of 7140 West Blvd., Apt. 119, is accused of falsifying a report of a stolen vehicle to avoid punishment.

According to an Austintown 911 call sheet, police were notified at 2:53 a.m. Sunday about a black Pontiac G6 in a ditch on North Four Mile Run Road. A police report states officers went to 1625 Fountain Square Drive to speak with Lichnerowicz, who reported the same vehicle stolen from the Fountain Square Drive address.

The police report states Lichnerowicz was called by police and told her her vehicle was in the ditch. She was “adamant that her vehicle was stolen,” the report states. When police found the vehicle, the keys were in the ignition.

Lichnerowicz told police she was drinking at a Meridian Road club, where she became intoxicated and had a friend drive her home. At home, Lichnerowicz told police she went to sleep, but then woke up to get some items from her vehicle, which is when she discovered the vehicle missing, along with her only car key.

Police told Lichnerowicz the consequences of providing a false statement, but she still said the vehicle was stolen and provided a statement.

The report states around midnight, Lichnerowicz called police and said she wanted to recant her statement. She said she was driving the vehicle on Four Mile Run Road and was trying to use the GPS on her phone. Lichnerowicz told police she looked down at her phone and when she looked back up, she was in a ditch.

Lichnerowicz said she had a few drinks and did not want to get in trouble for an OVI and that an “unknown woman came by in a vehicle and offered to give her a ride,” the report states.

Police gave Lichnerowicz citations for failure to control and leaving the scene of an accident, as well as criminal charges of falsification. She will be in court at a later date.