RADIO SMACK
Alleged drunken driver plows van into WNRI studios; station stays on the air
WOONSOCKET – Anyone who saw the images on the TV news yesterday morning might have been surprised to find that radio station WNRI (1380-AM) was still on the air.
Hours earlier, a drunk driver was injured when he plowed directly into the radio station’s Diamond Hill Road broadcasting studio, demolishing roughly a third of cinderblock and stucco building opposite St. Leon Avenue.
Co-owner Richard “Dick’ Bouchard’s office was obliterated, but most of the station’s vital broadcasting equipment was unscatched. No one was inside the building at the time but the station was broadcasting – on autopilot.
Although they were a bit blearyeyed after spending much of the night mopping up, morning co-hosts Roger Bouchard – Richard’s brother – and Dave Dean were on the air as usual.
“The van was crushed,” Richard Bouchard said. “I’d say 90 percent of the vehicle was inside the building. I’m delighted he didn’t take down my satellite dish but he did damage it.”
Detective Capt. Michael Lemoine said the driver of the van was Thomas Hill, 29, of Woonsocket.
Hill suffered minor injuries and was treated at Rhode Island Hospital after the crash. Following his release from the hospital, he was placed under
arrest and charged with driving under the influence of alcohol and possession of a controlled substance – Clonazepam, a prescription tranquilizer.
At about 12:20 a.m., Lemoine said, Hill was traveling on St. Leon Avenue, approaching a stop sign at Diamond Hill Road. The front of the radio station is perhaps 50 yards from – and directly opposite – St. Leon Avenue.
Hill did not stop at the sign, however, and there is no evidence that he even applied his brakes, according to Lemoine. He crossed Diamond Hill Road and barreled directly into the eastern third of the studio, demolishing two corner walls.
As the owners of the radio station surveyed the damage Wednesday morning, the parking lot was strewn with debris from the building and Hill’s crumpled van, including a fully inflated tire that was still attached to axle parts.
Dick Bouchard said the city’s building official was surprised that a sizable portion of the roof was still holding up, even though the collision took out both walls that appeared to be supporting it. But Bouchard said the structure was built to last.
The building used to be an autobody shop before WNRI moved in, in 1958. The late Joseph Britt, who lived next door, founded the station four years earlier. The Bouchard brothers, Dave St. Onge and Roger Laliberte, now own the station jointly.
“Daybreak Southern New England,” the morning show Roger Bouchard and Dean co-host, turned into a sort-of impromptu press conference on the status of the radio station after the crash. They answered multiple queries from call-in listeners, two TV stations from Providence sent crews out to conduct interviews and some devoted fans stopped by in person to make sure everyone was okay.
“I’m not too happy,” said Lee Darling of Manville, a longtime listener. “People gotta learn to slow down a little bit over here. They gotta learn to slow down and apply their brakes once in a while.”
Dean said he was relieved no one was seriously hurt.
“I’m just glad nobody is dead,” said Dean. “I’m glad it happened at a period of time no one was here, and I’m glad we’re still on the air – business as usual, basically.”
Roger Bouchard called his brother to inform him of the accident after he received a call from the police. After seeing the damage for himself, Dick went to Lowe’s and bought some adjustable steel pillars and lumber to shore up the roof.
As of yesterday morning, the Bouchards didn’t have a dollar estimate of the damage. Dick Bouchard said the owners were waiting for an insurance adjuster to file an appraisal, but he wouldn’t be surprised if repair costs are around $50,000.