Woman charged with hit-and-run in deadly crash
WOONSOCKET – A 30-yearold city woman was arrested Sunday for leaving the scene of a horrific three-vehicle crash on Harris Avenue that left an elderly woman dead and her husband seriously injured two days earlier.
Kristie Gore is charged with one count of failure to stop in a motor vehicle accident resulting in the death of Irene Gaulin and may face additional charges, said Deputy Police Chief Michael Lemoine.
Initial news reports about the crash, which occurred about 4 p.m. Friday, did not mention that Gaulin’s death was under investigation as a hit-and-run, but Lemoine said the police had been looking into that possibility after speaking to witnesses. The crash had preliminarily been described as a head-on collision between just two vehicles – one driven by Louis Gaulin, 85, in which his wife was a passenger, and a Ford pickup.
“We did look for, and found, some video of a potential third vehicle,” the deputy chief said Monday. “We were following up over the weekend, but the case really broke yesterday when we received information that the vehicle...was parked at the Holiday Inn Express on Cumberland Hill Road and the owner had contacted the police.”
Identified as Janelle Richards, 29, of Pawtucket, the owner of the black Hyundai is not charged with any offense. Lemoine said that she and Gore were both staying at the Holiday Inn, where Gore was arrested Sunday afternoon. Gore’s last known address in Woonsocket was 136 Sayles St.
This is how the Woonsocket Police Department’s Accident Reconstruction Team thinks the crash that claimed Irene Gaulin’s life occurred:
The elderly couple’s vehicle, a gold Toyota sedan, was traveling southbound on Harris Avenue, near the Blackstone line, as the black Hyundai operated by Gore was coming toward it from the opposite lane, traveling in a northbound direction. The Ford F-350 pickup was traveling behind the Gore-operated vehicle, in the same direction.
The events that triggered the three-vehicle crash occurred when Gore turned left onto Singleton Street, in front of oncoming traffic.