Skip to main content

Single-Car Crash Leads to 3 DUI Arrests

By Andrew Lu on December 04, 2012 | Last updated on March 21, 2019

A single-car crash in Rhode Island led to three separate DUI arrests, all of which had nothing to do with the initial crash.

A van slammed into a utility pole about 1 a.m. Sunday, police told WLNE-TV in Providence. That crash was not DUI-related, but it set off a chain of events that kept police busy over the next few hours.

Because the pole was linked to important electrical transformers, cops set up a roadblock so utility crews could make repairs. But to at least one driver, this roadblock looked just like a DUI sobriety checkpoint that you often see on heavy drinking nights like July Fourth and New Year's Eve.

Fearing a DUI checkpoint, the driver started arguing with his passengers about how to get around the roadblock, WLNE reports. Another motorist, apparently alarmed by the driver's antics, tipped off police.

When police stopped the driver's car, they arrested David Brewer, 48, of Collegeville, Pennsylvania. He was charged with DUI and refusal to submit to a chemical test.

A short time later, as the repair work continued, another drunken driver crashed into a police cruiser at the roadblock and slammed into another utility pole, WLNE reports. Police arrested Bailey Hardy, 22, of North Smithfield, R.I., after she failed an alcohol breath test. Hardy was arrested and charged with DUI and possession of marijuana.

And a short time after that, police made their third DUI arrest when a vehicle came to an abrupt stop right in front of the repair detail, according to WLNE. Police reportedly tried to wave the driver to a stop, but he ignored police and drove around the cruisers. After stopping the vehicle, police arrested Joseph Anthony, 31, of East Providence, for DUI, refusal to submit to a chemical test, and operating with a suspended license.

Three unrelated DUI arrests in just two and a half hours -- just another night in Rhode Island. The scary thing to think about is that none of these drunken drivers would have been caught had it not been for the initial accident.

Related Resources:

Copied to clipboard