Woonsocket Man Sentenced For Role In Fatal Road Rage Crash

WOONSOCKET, RI — Woonsocket man was sentenced to five years in prison on Friday for his involvement in a 2017 road rage incident that killed one man and seriously injured a second man on I-293. Mitchell Savard was found guilty in November of reckless driving resulting in death and reckless driving resulting serious bodily injury.

Superior Court Justice Maureen B. Keough delivered the sentence, which includes a five-year suspended sentence and 10 years of probation.

A Providence County Superior Court jury found Savard guilty of his role in the crash that killed Eric Salazar, and injured his passenger Andy Salgado. The Attorney General's Office said Savard was traveling north in the Johnson area the morning March 30, 2017 when he passed in front of a tow truck, and the tow truck driver honked his horn at Savard. Savard then abruptly hit the brakes and came to a complete stop, causing a chain reaction where the tow truck was forced to swerve to avoid a collision.

Salazar was driving a box truck behind the tow truck and was unable to avoid crashing into the tow truck. The crash killed Salazar and seriously injured his passenger.

"Our highways are no place for this kind of dangerous and completely unnecessary behavior," said AGnPeter F. Neronha. "While today's sentence will never bring back Mr. Salazar or take away the pain and suffering of his family, nor will it take away Mr. Salgado's pain and suffering, it does hold this defendant accountable for his conduct and hopefully sends a powerful message to other drivers."

Sergeant Jeff L'Heureux and Detective Robert Hopkins of the Rhode Island State Police led the investigation into the case. Assistant Attorney General Jay Sullivan and Special Assistant Attorney General Jessica Villella prosecuted the case on behalf of the Office of the Attorney General.