WPD: Sleeping Driver At Post Road, Airport Road Intersection Faces DUI Charge

WARWICK, RI — A sleeping pickup truck driver found at the intersection of Airport Road and Post Road faces a DUI charge after officers roused him Oct. 5 at 2:19 a.m.

Officer Oliver Pinheiro was called to the intersection for a report of a pickup stopped at the green light, finding it stopped in the right hand lane on Post Road facing north, according to the officer’s report. Pinheiro turned on his cruiser’s emergency lights, parked behind the truck and approached the driver’s side door.

Inside, Pinheiro saw the driver, later identified as Raymond Aunchman, 47, of 5 Quinlan Ct., Warwick. The truck was in drive, and Aunchman’s foot was on the brake, according to the officer’s report. Pinheiro tried the doors, which were locked, according to the report.

Officer Cody Wild joined Pinheiro at the scene, and the two began knocking on the in an attempt to wake Aunchman, with no success. Wild finally reached into the truck’s cab through the driver’s side window, which was rolled partway down, and grasped the man’s seatbelt to shake him awake. Aunchman’s eyes opened slightly, and noticed the officers standing at his window, Pinheiro reported.

Pinheiro told Aunchman to put the the truck in park, which he eventually did. After that, Pinheiro opened his door, unbuckled his seatbelt and asked him to step out of the truck. Aunchman slurred his words, seemed off-balance, and his breath smelled slightly of alcohol, according to Pinheiro’s report.

During a series of sobriety tests, Aunchman demonstrated a lack of smooth pursuit and involuntary eye movement in his vision, did not maintain heel-to-toe cadence while walking a straight line, and put his foot down several times during a one-leg stand test.

Pinheiro arrested Aunchman and transported him to Warwick Police Headquarters, 99 Veterans Memorial Drive, where he refused a breath test. Pinheiro charged him with DUI, first offense, blood alcohol unknown, and cited him for blocking an intersection.