Assault Via Kia: Driver Chases, Rams Yamaha 260

WARWICK, RI — A local man faces felony charges for an assault via Kia after ramming his white 2019 car into a red 2016 Yamaha 260 Aug. 21 at 4:35 p.m. at the West Shore Road and Sandy Lane intersection, police say.

Police have charged a local man, Kalyb Sangas, 20, of 26 Beaver Ave., who may or may not own the motorcycle, with felony assault for the assault via Kia.

According to police, several witnesses saw the man ram the red 2016 motorcycle as he chased it in a 2019 Kia through the intersection.

Assault via Kia: Test drive escalates into car chase

Officer Jake Reddy responded to the call, originally reported as a crash between a car and motorcycle. When he arrived at the intersection, he found the male motorcycle rider, a minor, and the Kia driver, Sangas, among 10 people standing in the road yelling at one another, according to the officer’s report.

The motorcycle rider was transported to Hasbro Children’s Hospital for treatment of reported pain in his head and neck and lower leg/knee. The rider’s mother told officers the motorcycle had been stolen from their home in Providence a few days  earlier, but they had not reported it.

At  the scene of the crash, Sangas told officers he had advertised the motorcycle for sale on Facebook Marketplace, and that the minor had visited to test drive the motorcycle. The minor returned and told Sangas he would get the money for the motorcyclye from a friend’s house  and return. Sangas had to go to work, so he left the motorcycle keys with his sister to finish the sale.

Sangas’s sister, 28, told officers the minor returned and asked to test drive the motorcycle  again, leaving his car key with her. However, once the minor left on the motocycle, the black sedan he’d arrived in, which she thought was unoccupied, sped away as well. She called 911 to report the minor had stolen the motorcycle. Sangas’s mother called him to inform him the motorcycle had been stolen.

While driving near West Shore Road, Sangas spotted the motorcycle and turned to pursue it, intentionally driving his Kia into the Yamaha, according to Reddy’s report. Several witnesses reported Sangas traveling close to 100 mph chasing the motorcycle. There were also several witnesses the assault via Kia who reported Sangas’s white Kia drove into the motorcycle as the vehicles were entering the intersection, according to the report.

Reddy arrested Sangas and transported him to Kent Hospital for complaints of pain, where he was cleared medically then released back to WPD headquarters, 99 Veterans Memorial Drive, where he  was charged with  felony assault.