Starting off on the wrong foot

WOONSOCKET – The Woonsocket Police Department’s first arrest of 2022 was a wrong-way drunk driver from Massachusetts who struck a police cruiser head-on a few minutes into the New Year.

David Mackenzie, 69, of Blackstone, was driving against the flow of traffic on the Clinton Street extension, a one way, when his vehicle slammed into a cruiser operated by Officer Joshua Lindsey at about 12:18 a.m., according to Police Chief Thomas F. Oates III.

Mackenzie, who was also charged with refusing a Breathalyzer test, was treated at Rhode Island Hospital for minor injuries.

Lindsey refused medical attention and insisted on finishing his shift in another cruiser, Oates said, expressing pride in the officer’s dedication.

“Officer Lindsey declined medical treatment and actually switched to another car after completing his paperwork and went back on the street to complete his tour of duty,” the chief said via e-mail. “Something to be said for that!”

Oates said Lindsey had been traveling west on Cumberland Street before making the turn onto the Clinton Street extension when he saw Mackenzie’s vehicle coming directly toward his cruiser from several hundred feet away. Lindsey tried to alert Mackenzie, to no avail.

The oncoming vehicle struck the Ford cruiser with enough force to cause the airbags to deploy, Oates said. The driver’s side quarter was extensively damaged.

Officer Jason Berthelette and Timothy Greene responded to the crash to conduct the on-scene investigation.

Mackenzie was released on a summons to answer the charges in Sixth District Court from Rhode Island Hospital. In addition to the criminal charges, police also cited him with driving against a oneway, a traffic offense.

His arrest was not only the first of the New Year, it also happened on something of a momentous occasion for Lindsey. He joined the WPD on Dec. 30, 2019, which means he was marking two years with the-force the same night as the crash.