Rhode Island Man Charged With DUI Twice In One Day

WARWICK, RI — A Warwick man earned a dubious honor on Friday when he was again charged with drunken driving — just a few hours after leaving court for the same charge from earlier that morning. Patrick Cahill, 61, of Suburban Parkway, is currently being held in jail as a probation violator.

Cahill was first pulled over just before 3 a.m. on Friday on Interstate 95 North in Warwick after driving the wrong way up the highway. Later that day, he pleaded no contest to charges of reckless driving and driving under the influence in 3rd Division District Court. Less than 12 hours after his initial arrest, he was again stopped on I-95, this time in East Greenwich, and again charged with drunken driving with a blood alcohol level above 0.15. He is set to appear in court again on Monday.

Cahill was one of 11 people charged with DUI over just two days, part of the state police's new Traffic Safety Unit. Since its launch in November, the unit has arrested and charges 190 drivers with driving under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs.

"In the past three months, since the Traffic Safety Unit was formed, impaired driving arrests on Rhode Island roadways have increased [by] 157 percent," State Police Colonel James Manni said. "These statistics represent our commitment to protecting the safety of all Rhode Islanders from the menace of impaired drivers."