DUI Arrest Follows Lambert Lind Highway Crash

WARWICK, RI — On Nov. 10 at 11:50 Officer Keara Enos and Sgt. Timothy Tavares were called to 255 Lambert Lind Highway near the Cork & Rye pub for a crash, arresting a driver on a DUI charge.

At the scene, they saw a white 2016 Nissan Rogue stopped facing south, in the center lane, with “significant front-end damage,” according to the report. A second car, a white 2003 Honda Accord was positioned perpendicular to the road, on the curb, with its front-end smashed against a bridge guardrail, at the side of the street. The Honda also had rear-end damage. The impact from the crash had left a “significant debris field,” in the road, according to Enos’s report.

Tavares spok with the Honda driver, while Enos looked for the Nissan driver, finding him in the crowd that has gathered on the roadside after the crash. Enos identified the driver as Christopher Janton, 32, of 117 Sumit Ave., Coventry.

Enos noted Janton’s eyes were bloodshot and watery, that his speech was slurred, and that he seemed excited and talkative while also swaying as he stood. He also appeared to have a dazed expression, according to the officer’s report.

When asked what had happened, Janton replied that the Honda driver had turned left in front of him, and Janton had hit him as he drove. As Janton spoke, Enos reported smelling a stong odor of alcohol on his breath. She asked him to perform sobriety tests, which he agreed to do.

During the tests, Janton demonstrated a lack of smooth pursuit and involuntary movement in his vision, failed to walk heel-to-toe as instructed, stepped off-line and used his arms for balance during a walk and turn test, then put his foot down twice and lost his balance during a one-leg stand test.

Janton refused to take  portable breath test, and Enos arrested him on suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol. She transported him to Warwick Police Headquarters, 99 Veterans Memorial Drive, where he also refused to take a stationary breath test.

Enos charged Janton with DUI, blood alcohol content unknown, first offense, and cited him for refusing the breath test. He appeared in Third District Court to answer the DUI charge Nov. 30, pleaded not guilty, and was scheduled for a pre-trial conference on Dec. 15.