Two Hurt, Man Charged after Crashing Stolen Car in Joyride, Police Say

Newport Police arrested a 20-year-old Newport man who allegedly stole Ford Taurus after a party on Dr. Marcus Wheatland Boulevard early Wednesday morning and went on a joyride that ended after he sped upwards of 50 mph, ran through stop signs and crashed into a pickup truck at the intersection of Memorial Boulevard and Rhode Island Avenue.

Two men, age 45 and 52, both of Portsmouth, suffered non-life threatening injuries and were transported to Newport Hospital after the accident, which occurred shortly before 7:30 a.m.

Police said Khaleel S. Mills, of 9 Stewart St., was driving the stolen car that caused the crash and surveillance cameras recorded him as he got into the car belonging to the host of the party. Mills reportedly was a guest at the party earlier in the night.

Mills then picked up a passenger, later identified by police as Adam Harry Cox, 28, of 11 Armstrong Place, Newport, and the two reportedly drank alcohol and drove around for a while before Mills allegedly raced down the street at a high rate of speed, ran through several stop signs and slammed into the back of a pickup truck stopped at the intersection, causing it to spin 180 degrees.

Mills began to drive away from the scene. As a motorist who saw the crash followed, Mills reportedly continued on for a bit before bailing out on East Bowery Street.

Officers reported finding the Taurus on the side of the road with heavy front end damage and fluids leaking from the engine compartment.

Inside, they found a half-filled bottle of Coca Cola in the footwell, two pairs of sneakers and two skateboards in the back seat.

Police found both men walking on foot on Chapel Street by Old Beach Road a short time later. Cox was carrying a bottle of Captain Morgan rum, police said.

Although they had discarded articles of clothing they had been wearing prior to the crash, police said, witnesses were able to positively identify them as the two men in the Taurus at the time of the crash.

Wills was charged with driving without the consent of the owner and leaving the scene of an accident, injury resulting — both felonies — and driving with a suspended license.

Cox reportedly told police that he didn’t realize the car had been taken without permission and was not charged in connection with the incident. But officers at the scene discovered he had an outstanding warrant out of District Court on an unrelated charge.