Driver Will be Cited for Officer Involved Crash on Reservoir Avenue

An elderly operator who drove in the path of a police cruiser responding to a service call on Reservoir Avenue Friday afternoon will be cited for failing to yield to a public safety vehicle, said Cranston Police Chief Col. Michael J. Winquist.

The accident happened at around 2:28 p.m. on Reservoir Avenue just south of Park Avenue near the CVS.

Winquist said the cruiser, one of the department’s newer unmarked Dodge Chargers, was heading south with its lights flashing when the elderly operator pulled out onto Reservoir Avenue “directly into the path of the cruiser, resulting in the collision,” Winquist said.

Crews used the jaws of life to extricate the driver who was not seriously injured but was transported to the hospital for treatment.

The officer was not injured and the department’s traffic unit is handling the investigation.

Winquist said independent witnesses confirmed that the operator apparently failed to yield to the oncoming police cruiser. He said that the driver might have had trouble seeing the oncoming cruiser due to cars stopped in the right lane as the cruiser approached in the left lane.

Reservoir Avenue is a four-lane road with two lanes in either direction.

Photos: Everett Trainer

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