Officer Hurt, Two Cruisers Struck after 3 Weekend DUIs in Cranston

One officer was hospitalized with minor injuries, two police cruisers were damaged and three people are facing charges of driving under the influence in three separate accidents in Cranston over the weekend.

Each incident was caused by someone getting behind the wheel while drunk and the Cranston Police Department “narrowly avoided tragedy last night and are fortunate the officer who was struck received only minor injuries,” said Col. Michael J. Winquist, Cranston’s chief of police. “It is troubling that some operators continue to make poor choices by getting behind the wheel of a vehicle after drinking.”

Early Saturday morning at around 1:14 a.m., police said Alex Sanville, 24, of Swansea, Mass., crashed into an unattended marked police car in the parking lot of Mardi Gras nightclub. He failed a field sobriety test at the scene and was promptly charged with DUI.

About an hour and 20 minutes later, police responded to a report of a car stopped in the travel lane at the intersection of Harris Avenue and Cranston Street. The car reportedly had struck another car in the Mardi Gras Multi Club parking lot before driving away. Police arrived to find both Marc Daniel, 41, of 976 Cranston St., Cranston, and a passenger sleeping inside with the engine running.

Daniel told police he did not recall being involved in an accident and later failed a field sobriety test. He registered blood alcohol readings of .235 and .230 during a preliminary breath test at police headquarters.

Police said Daniel was also driving with a suspended license.

Then on Sunday at around 12:56 a.m., an officer was administering a field sobriety test to a driver he had stopped on Oaklawn Avenue at Garden Hills Drive when a car being driven by Steven Capobianco, 32, of 61 Manor Road, Cranston, smashed into the rear of his cruiser, police said.

The impact of the crash pushed the cruiser forward, striking the officer in the hip and back, and caused significant damage.

Both the officer and a passenger in Capobianco’s car were transported to Kent County Hospital where they were treated for minor injuries and released.

Capobianco failed a field sobriety test at the scene and was arraigned before a Justive of the Peace on charges of driving under the influence and refusing a chemical test. He was released on personal recognizance.

“With the holiday season upon us, the Cranston police remain especially vigilant in removing impaired drivers from our roadways,” Winquist said. “We will have increased DUI patrols patrolling the city and ask for the public’s assistance by dialing 911 to report impaired drivers.”