Sleeping Driver Charged With DUI March 14

WARWICK, RI — Officer Ryan Riecke charged a Cranston man, 44, with DUI March 14 at 12:45 a.m. after Seasons Corner Market, 2128 Elmwood Ave., reported a driver passed out in a car at pump 6.

Riecke found the man, Christopher Thomas Lambert, 44, of 160 Riverside Ave., Cranston, RI, sleeping behind the wheel of a gray 2016 Ram 1500, with the engine running. Riecke began knocking on the window of the driver’s side window to wake the driver, who was extremely slow to respond and wake up, according to the officer’s report.

Riecke noted numerous empty alcohol bottles, and an empty Corona in the center console. Lambert rolled down the window, and Riecke could immediately smell a strong odor of alcohol. The officer asked him if he’d been drinking, and Lambert said he’d had three beers at the Grid Iron bar on Post Road.

Sobriety Tests Lead to DUI Charge

Riecke invited Lambert to perform sobriety tests, and the driver stepped out f the car, appearing very uneasy on his feet, according to the report. During the tests, Lambert demonstrated a lack of smooth pursuit and involuntary movement in his vision, failed to walk a straight line as instructed and swayed and put his foot down during a one-leg-stand test.

Riecke arrested Lambert on suspicion of DUI and transported him to Warwick Police Headquarters, 99 Veterans Memorial Drive, where he refused to take a breath test. Riecke charged Lambert with DUI, blood alcohol content unknown, and cited him for refusing the test.