SUV Hits Curb, Driver Faces DUI Charge June 16

WARWICK, RI — Officer Tyler Luiz was driving near the intersection of West Shore Road and Warwick Avenue May 3 at 3:10 a.m. when he saw a gray 2012 Ford Escape going west on Airport Road veer into a curb, stopping and arresting the driver on a DUI charge.

Luiz initially thought the abrupt turn was an attempt to pull in at a nearby Speedway gas station, but when the SUV struck the curb, raising the vehicle, “significantly,” according to the officer’s report, then corrected and continued west, he began following it.

Luiz pulled the SUV over in the breakdown lane on Airport Road just after Elmhurst Road, and requested assistance. The officer spoke with the driver, identifying her as  Ciara L. Peltier, 29, of 173 Quarry St., East Providence, RI. He asked about the abrupt turn and curb strike.

DUI charge follows stop, sobriety tests

Peltier, whose eyes appeared bloodshot, told the officer she had been looking up an address on her GPS device, and that she had also had a margarita at a friend’s house, according to the report. Officer Kristopher Orellana arrvied to assist in the traffic stop, and the officers asked Peltier to perform sobriety tests, which she agreed to do.

During the tests, Peltier demonstrated a lack of smooth pursuit in her vision, stepped off-line during a walk and turn test and put her foot down repeatedly during a one-leg stand. Luiz and Orellana arrested her on suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol. Luiz transported her to Warwick Police Headquarters, 99 Veterans Memorial Drive. Orellana stayed to supervise a tow for her SUV.

At the station, Peltier refused to submit to a breath test of her blood alcohol level. She was released on $1,000 personal recognizance bail and scheduled for a June 2 pretrial conference in Third District Court, later rescheduled till June 16.