Man crashes minivan into motorcycle shop
PAWTUCKET – A Woonsocket man crashed his minivan into Precision Harley Davidson as he was attempting to flee from a hit-and-run less than a half-mile away Thursday evening, Pawtucket Police said.
According to police, the van driven by Christopher F. Antaya, 51, of 7 Ward St. in Woonsocket was involved in a hit-and-run at the intersection of George Bennett Highway and Central Avenue around 6 p.m. Thursday.
Antaya allegedly fled the scene of the initial crash, but subsequently slammed his van into the Precision Harley Davidson building on Armistice Boulevard, just one intersection south of the initial hit-andrun, police said.
Police said nobody was injured in the hit-and-run and the victim’s vehicle sustained minor damage. The building, however, took the brunt of the damage when the minivan smashed into it just after 6:15 p.m. Thursday evening. Nobody inside the motorcycle dealership was injured when the van struck the building, although the building itself suffered damage to its exterior and interior.
Antaya was arrested at the scene and charged with duty to stop in accidents resulting in damage to vehicles, according to police records. He was transported to Rhode Island Hospital for treatment of minor injuries sus- tained in the crash.
According to the judiciary’s web site, Antaya was arraigned at Sixth District Court on Friday morning and entered a not guilty plea. He was referred to a public defender and is due back in court for a pre-trial conference on Sept. 21. Follow Jonathan Bissonnette on Twitter @J_Bissonnette