Man charged with DUI after allegedly hitting parked cars
WOONSOCKET – Police say a city man was intoxicated when he allegedly backed into two parked cars on Roberts Street and drove away on Thursday.
Normand J. Tondrow, 51, of 77 Reservoir Ave., was charged with refusal to submit to a breath test; driving under the influence; and two counts of leaving the scene of an accident involving an unattended vehicle.
At about 9 p.m., witnesses told police, they watched as Tondrow erratically backed down dead-end Roberts Street at a high rate of speed before he slammed into a parked car. The force of the crash pushed the parked vehicle into another adjacent to it.
Tondrow stopped briefly, giving the owner of one of the vehicles a chance to approach him and ask him to put his black Hyundai in park. Tondrow did so and exited the
vehicle for a few moments. Then he returned to the vehicle and drove to the top of Roberts Street, made a u-turn and fled the area in the direction of Manville Road.
Police found Tondrow a few minutes later, walking toward his house on Reservoir Avenue. The Hyundai was parked nearby.
Police said Tondrow’s speech was slurred and he smelled of alcohol. They asked him to perform a field sobriety test, but they cut it short for his own safety because he was unable to stand on one leg. He later refused to take a breath test, but he was charged with driving under the influence on the basis of Patrol Officer Nicholas V. D’Alessio’s field observations.