The early morning crash that killed a child under 3 on West Main Road came minutes after a Portsmouth police officer terminated an attempted traffic stop of the same vehicle, according to a release from the Portsmouth Police Department.
A Portsmouth officer clocked a white sedan traveling south on West Main Road near Mill Lane at 58 mph in a 45 mph zone at about 1:20 a.m. Thursday and activated his emergency lights, police said. The car slowed and pulled toward the right side of the road, then accelerated away.
The officer turned on his siren and followed as the car continued south at speeds Portsmouth police estimated at 80 to 90 mph. He called off the stop near West Main Road and Union Street under department policy, according to the release, and Middletown police were notified that the vehicle was entering their jurisdiction.
A short time later the car struck a stone wall and utility pole in front of Linden Park in Middletown, about 3.4 miles from where the Portsmouth officer broke off. Portsmouth officers responded and assisted at the scene.
Middletown police said officers found the car fully engulfed in flames and removed the driver and front-seat passenger. A rear-seat passenger, a child under the age of 3, could not be freed and was pronounced dead at the scene. The Middletown Fire Department put out the fire, and the two survivors were taken to Rhode Island Hospital with serious injuries.
Middletown police charged Jerry Bonilla, 32, of the Bronx, New York, with driving under the influence of liquor or drugs resulting in death, first offense; driving under the influence resulting in serious bodily injury, first offense; driving to endanger resulting in death; and driving to endanger resulting in personal injury.
Bonilla was arraigned at about 1:30 p.m. Thursday and held at the Adult Correctional Institutions on $500,000 surety bail.
The Rhode Island State Police Collision Reconstruction Unit is assisting Middletown police with the investigation.
The charges are accusations. Bonilla is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.This story is developing and will be updated.
