Cops: East Lyme Woman Charged In Rhode Island DUI, Hit & Run

WESTERLY, RI — Nova Armstong, 21, of East Lyme was charged by Westerly, Rhode Island police after midnight Friday with driving under the influence after a hit-and-run involving property in Watch Hill. Police said Armstrong told them she had been at a Mystic bar and was headed to East Lyme admitting she din't know how she ended up in Westerly, Police Chief Shawn Lacey said.

According to police, Armstrong was heading up the Larkin Road hill toward Bluff Avenue near the Ocean House in Watch Hill and “didn’t make the corner going on to Bluff Avenue and struck two no parking signs and the corner of a wall by the right of way to East Beach.”

A witness called police and reported hearing a “crash.” As police were heading toward the call, they passed a car with front end damage near the intersection of Watch Hill and Winnapaug roads. Police pulled Armstrong over and, Lacey said, when they asked her about the damage to the car, she said she struck a curb, and “did not know where she was on how she got there.”

Armstrong told police she was at a bar and was headed to East Lyme. She did not know how she ended up in the opposite direction, more than 15 miles from downtown Mystic in Westerly, Rhode Island, Lacey said.

Police said Armstrong failed a field sobriety test, blowing a .166 on a portable breathalyzer. He said at police headquarters on Airport Road, had a breathalyzer reading of .180.

Armstrong was charged with driving under the influence, greater than .15, and failing to stop at an accident resulting in damage, Lacey said.

According to court records, she was arraigned, pleaded not guilty, posted a $2,000 personal recognizance bond and was released. She has a court date of Nov. 8 in Fourth Division District Court in Wakefield, Rhode Island.