Officials bent out of shape over mayor’s fender-bender

After mayor is hurt in minor car accident, council members upset they weren’t told

WOONSOCKET – There is no policy requiring officials to inform members of the City Council when they’re involved in an accident using a cityowned vehicle, but some say there should be after learning Mayor Lisa Baldelli-Hunt was taken to the hospital after a recent crash.

A state police report says the accident, which occurred on Route 4 in North Kingstown on May 1, left the mayor with injuries described as “nonincapacitating” while her son, Sam Hunt, a passenger, was uninjured. Baldelli-Hunt was transported to South County Hospital by ambulance while the city-owned 2016 Ford Edge she was driving was heavily damaged and had to be towed away.

Council President Dan Gendron says he just learned about the accident a day or two ago.

Now Gendron is questioning whether the mayor should have a duty to notify the council if she is hospitalized, however briefly, in a mishap such as a car crash.

He said he has asked City Solicitor John DeSimone for a formal opinion.

“I just want to know if it’s something we should have been notified about,” said Gendron.

Gendron said he is not advocating that the mayor be held to a different

standard than other city employees who are involved in accidents with city-owned vehicles. Unless there is a claim for injury-related damages as a result of such accidents, usually the city council never hears about them.

“My bigger concern beyond the fact that it was a city car and everything was that the mayor was in an accident and we weren’t notified that she was okay,” the council president said. “On the personal level I would have liked to have known that there were no injuries...just because she runs the city it would be nice to know that she was okay.”

Baldelli-Hunt defended her handling of the accident and chided members of the city council for prying into what she described as a private family matter.

“It’s a personal matter and I don’t get involved in their personal lives,” said the mayor. “It’s disappointing to me that the council president has stooped to this level. And if this were reversed the phone call I would have been making would have been of concern to make certain that no one was seriously injured. My call would have been one of compassion.”

When Baldelli-Hunt was apprised that Gendron and other members of the council had expressed concern for her welfare, she seemed incredulous, saying, “He’s concerned so he called the media?”

At least one member of the council, however, says it may be time to revisit the notion that a motor vehicle accident involving an official who has unfettered use of a city-owned vehicle is a purely private matter.

Councilman Richard Fagnant says he believes that the few officials who enjoy ‘round the clock use of cityowned vehicles ought to be held to a higher standard than simply filing a report with the police who respond to the accident.

“I think so,” said Fagnant. “Anybody that works for the city that is given a car to use and takes it home or drives it has a duty to report an accident...I believe that is a city car and that is provided by the taxpayers. The taxpayers have a right to know the mayor has gotten into a car accident. That’s called transparency.”

Fagnant added, “I’m glad she’s okay, but the bottom line is you can’t keep things like this from the public. Transparency and public perception is very important and this doesn’t look like it.”

The mayor is among a handful of municipal employees and officials who are afforded city-owned vehicles for use at will. A partial list of the others includes the chief of police and the director of public works.

According to the state police report, Baldelli-Hunt was involved in a four-car rear-ender about 4 p.m. on May 1 as she was traveling southbound on Route 4 in North Kingstown, not far from Frenchtown Road. The accident began when the first car slowed for traffic and was subsequently rear-ended by another vehicle traveling behind it.

Baldelli-Hunt’s SUV was the third vehicle in the chainreaction crash. She was unable to brake in time to avoid striking the vehicle in front of her and a fourth vehicle also struck the mayor’s from behind, according to the report.

The police report says the Ford Edge sustained in excess of $1,000 worth of damage to the front and rear end. Undriveable after the crash, the vehicle was towed away from the scene.

The state police cited none of the four drivers for any infraction, and Gendron said DeSimone has informed him the city is not expected to face any claim for liability resulting from the crash. The city is insured by the Rhode Island Inter-Local Trust, a risk pool that covers many of the state’s cities and towns.