Man faces charges from crash that killed three
PAWTUCKET – The crash that took the lives of three West Warwick women in their 20s just after midnight on Thursday was described by Pawtucket Police as the one of the worst driving-related fatalities in city history, and now a city man is facing numerous charges stemming from the fatal wreck.
Twenty-one-year-old James Belanger of 214 Sweet Ave., Apt. 2, who was behind the wheel of the 2003 Nissan Altima that split in two after crashing into a utility pole on Walcott Street, is facing three counts of duty to stop at an accident resulting in death, three counts of driving to endanger resulting in death, and single charges of possession of cocaine and possession of a controlled substance, according to police records.
The three women who died as a result of the accident were identified by police as 20-year-old Emily Howell and 24-year-old Theresa Leary – both of whom were pronounced dead at the scene – and 22-year-old Fatima Rosa, who was transported to Rhode Island Hospital and succumbed to her injuries later that morning.
“This is one of the biggest fatalities we’ve had in Pawtucket,” Pawtucket Police Maj. Tina Goncalves said during a press conference at City Hall on Friday. “It’s always difficult to reach out to three families to let them know their child in their 20s has passed due to a motor vehicle accident that we believe, due to speed and possibly driving under the influence, could have been avoided.”
At 12:13 a.m. Thursday, police responded to the accident in the vicinity of 350 Walcott St., between the intersections with Schofield Street and Delta Drive, across from Triton Collision Center. As police arrived on scene, they found a single car that had split in half after striking a pole. The wreck was described by Goncalves as “a devastating motor vehicle accident.”
“There was hundreds of feet worth of debris” in the aftermath of the wreck, Goncalves said.
According to the initial investigation, Belanger was driving at a high rate of speed east on Walcott Street when he attempted to negotiate a curve in the road, lost control, and struck the utility pole on the driver’s side. His 2003 Nissan Altima split in two from the driver’s side to the passenger’s side, front to rear, leaving the entire back seat of the car exposed. The two pieces of the car were found about 75 feet apart, Goncalves said.
None of the women seated in the back of the car were wearing their seat belts and they were all ejected from the car. The man seated in the passenger’s seat was on scene and appeared confused in the aftermath of the crash. Goncalves corrected a report that had been released on Thursday that indicated the passenger had fled the scene, saying instead that he was confused following the crash but he remained at the scene. He was transported to Memorial Hospital for treatment of minor injuries and was released later on Thursday.
Belanger, meanwhile, was found walking in the intersection of George Bennett Highway and Division Street, about a quarter of a mile from the crash.