N. Kingstown Woman Gets 7 Years In Prison For Fatal Drunken Crash

EAST GREENWICH, RI — A North Kingstown woman was sentenced Monday to seven years in prison for a drunken crash that killed a woman and injured two others in East Greenwich.

The crash happened in September 2019 and killed Patricia Daniels, 46, of North Kingstown.

Barba Trojan, 63, pleaded nolo contendere on July 15, 2021, to driving under the influence resulting in death and two counts of driving so as to endanger with physical injury resulting.

At Monday's sentencing hearing in Providence Superior Court, Trojan was sentenced to 12 years Trojan at the Adult Correctional Institutions in Cranston, but she has seven years left to serve and the balance of the sentence suspended with probation.

The court also sentenced Trojan to three years of home confinement to be served consecutive to her sentence at the ACI. For the duration of her home confinement, a breathalyzer will be installed in her home. Additionally, the court ordered Trojan’s driver’s licensed be revoked for five years, following her release, and she must complete substance abuse treatment for alcohol.

"There is just no reason to drive while under the influence of alcohol – ever," Attorney General Peter Nertonha said. "Get a ride home. Call a taxi or a ride-sharing service. When you don’t, you risk your life and the lives of others. And yet, week after week, month after month, year after year, people who are intoxicated take to the roads anyway, and far too often cause irrevocable harm to innocent people. The criminal justice system cannot reverse time, yet I hope that today’s sentence of incarceration provides some assurance that those who irresponsibly endanger others will be held to account. I also hope it provides some sense of justice for Patricia’s loved ones and the community."

Had the case proceeded to trial, prosecutors said they were prepared to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that on Sept. 6, 2019, Trojan drove drunk and hit an SUV on the opposite side of Frenchtown Road in East Greenwich, resulting in Daniels' death and injuring two others.

Over the course of five hours, Trojan drank a significant amount of alcohol at a bar in East Greenwich before trying to drive home in her Volkswagen sedan around midnight, prosecutors said.

Prosecutors said Trogan's blood alcohol level was .225.