Erratic Driver DUI: Woman Follows, Alerts WPD

WARWICK, RI — At about 10:45 p.m. March 3, Officer Connor Craig was called to Warwick Neck Avenue and West Shore Road, with a motorist following a reported erratic driver DUI in a white van, stopping it and arresting the driver.

En route, dispatch advised Craig the following driver had followed the man driving the van out of the Bottom Line Bar on Palmer Avenue, watching him stumble to the van, and decided to follow the man from the establishment. She reported the van nearly struck a barrier on Palmer Avnenue on Rocky Point Avenue, then turned onto Warwick Neck Avenue, nearly striking several parked cars while swerving into oncoming traffic. She reported the van nearly struck a pedestrian crossing sign before stopping in the 7-Eleven lot at 2078 West Shore Road.

Craig arrived, finding the van, a white Chevy van parked in the lot along the curb just inside the West Shore Road entrance, blocking gas pumps. He checked with the woman who had been following the van and then spoke with the van’s driver, identified as David Forgue, 61, of 37 Warren Ave., Chelmsford, MA, according to the officers’s report.

Craig reported immediately smelled a strong odor of alcohol on Forgue’s breath, and asked him if he had just come from Bottom Line Bar, which Forgue confirmed. When asked how he got to the 7-Eleven, Forgue told him, “I drove,” according to the report.

Craig ran Forgue through a series of sobriety tests, during which he swayed repeatedly, and could not follow instructions well enough to complete a test of his vision. During a walk and turn test, he broke heel-to-toe steps, stepped off-line and made an improper turn. He also hopped and used his arms for balance during a one-leg stand test.

Craig arrested Forgue on suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol, and transported him to Warwick Police Headquarters, 99 Veterans Memorial Drive, Warwick, RI, where he refused to take a breath test of his blood alcohol level. Bill’s Towing was called to remove his truck from the lot.

Craig charged Forgue with DUI, first offense, blood alcohol unknown, and cited him for refusing the test, lane violations and for failing to maintain control of his vehicle. He was arraigned on the DUI charge in Third District Court March 19, and scheduled for an April 5 pretrial conference.