WPD Call for Passed Out Driver Ends In DUI Arrest

Warwick, RI – Warwick Police were called to a home at 2563 Post Road for a report of a driver passed out in a car, finding a Providence woman slumped over the steering wheel of a 2012 Honda Civic running with the lights on, arrested and charged her with DUI.

As Officer Donald Dimaio approached the car, he saw the back window was open and was able to wake the driver, later identified as Erin Simon, 37 of 166 Valley St., Apt. 6M420, Providence, according to the officer’s report.

As Simon searched for her license, registration and proof of insurance, she made incoherent statements, Dimaio reported. The officer also noted she had bloodshot, watery eyes, and mumbled speech.

Simon told the officer she hadn’t been drinking that evening. She agreed to a series of sobriety tests. She took a step out of the vehicle and nearly fell down, the officer reported.

A test of her vision showed a lack of smooth pursuit, and involuntary movement of her eyes. She was unable to keep her balance or maintain heel-to-toe cadence during the walk-and-turn test, according to the report. She also waved her arms and hopped in a full 360-degree turn during the one-leg stand after warning the officer she sometimes experienced vertigo.

A search of Simon’s car turned up two bottles containing 1 milligram pills of alprazolam and a bottle of  20-milligram amphetamine pills, according to the report. Simon told Dimaio she had only taken aderol that morning, the officer reported.

Dimaio reported Simon didn’t have an odor of alcohol on her breath. He transported her to Kent County Memorial Hospital, where she consented to blood samples.

Dimaio charged Simon with Driving Under the Influence of Alcohol or Drugs, blood alcohol content unknown.  She was released to the custody of the hospital staff.