Slow Driver Charged for Hit & Run, DUI

WARWICK, RI — On Feb. 10, Officer Nathaniel Gray stopped a slow driver in white BMW on New London Avenue that reportedly ran a red light at 5 mph and rear-ended a car charging the driver with DUI.

Officers Sara Goes and David Babcock were dispatched to the area of the report, where Gray was already patrolling, headed north on Bald Hill Road at the time, according to the officer’s report. He continued north on New London Ave. and spotted a white Toyota Tacoma, its hazards on, following the BMW, still going at “a very low rate of speed,” according to the report.

Gray got behind the BMW, which veered over the white fog line with both its passenger side tires multiple times. Gray turned on his lights and siren to signal a stop for the driver before the Howard Avenue intersection, but the BMW continued slowly for a while before finally stopping at a traffic light in the north left-hand lane when it turned red. Gray stopped, got out, and made contact with the driver, telling her to put the BMW in park.

Gray identified the driver as Joanne Mortimer, 65, of 34 Mather Ave., Cranston, RI. When told the reason for the stop, Mortimer said she was unaware she had been in an accident. Gray later observed front-end damage to her car.

Officer Babcock arrived and Gray asked Mortimer to step out of the car, which she did. Gray noted her eyes appeared bloodshot and watery, and he speech was slurred. Later, as he was transporting her to Warwick Police Headquarters, 99 Veterans Memorial Drive, he smelled an odor of alcohol from the back seat where Mortimer was placed, according to the report.

Gray and Babcock asked Mortimer to perform sobriety tests, which she declined. At the station, Mortimer also declined to submit to a breath test of her blood alcohol content.

Gray charged her with DUI, first offense, blood alcohol content unknown and failure to stop after a crash with damage, first offense. He also cited her for refusing the breath test, as well as for driving without insurance, failing to obey traffic control devices, and for lane violations.