Driver on Phone Stopped, Arrested For Suspended License

WARWICK, RI — WPD Sgt. Aaron Kay was driving west on Toll Gate Road in an unmarked cruiser April 1 at 2:46 p.m. when a gray Honda driver passed him with his phone to his ear.

As Kay attempted to turn north onto Bald Hill Road, that Honda driver, later identified as Timothy A. Carlos, 32, of 6104 Scituate Vista Drive, Cranston, RI, passed him with the phone in his right hand, held to his right ear, speaking into it as he drove north in the right lane, according to Kay’s report.

Kay merged into northbound traffic on Bald Hill Road and followed the Honda driver, who continued to use the phone while driving, according to the report. Kay pulled him over near Hearthside Patio, south of East Avenue, and approached the driver’s window.

Kay saw that Carlos had placed the phone on speaker and laid it on the passenger’s seat next to him. A woman’s voice was audible coming from the phone.

Carlos told Kay he didn’t have an active driver’s license, and he suspected there were likely warrants for his arrest for missing court dates. Kay confirmed this, and arrested Carlos, placing him in his cruiser and transporting him to Warwick Police Headquarters, 99 Veterans Memorial Drive, where he processed and charged him with driving with a suspended license, and cited him for using a mobile phone while operating a car.