Bristol Police have identified and cited a suspect in a hit and run incident that grabbed attention due to the event being caught on video. Major Brian Burke released the following information regarding the incident:

“On Dec. 30, 2022, at approximately 5:30 p.m., Bristol Police responded to Bay View Ave for a reported motor vehicle accident. Upon arrival, officers discovered a 2020 Chevy, parked unattended, with significant damage to the passenger side of the vehicle. The impact had pushed the parked vehicle partially onto the shoulder of the roadway. During the initial investigation, officers were able to obtain video of the accident. The video showed a white Ford pickup truck, towing a trailer, traveling west on Bay View Ave. As the truck passed the parked vehicle, the passenger side of the truck and trailer struck the parked vehicle. The driver of the truck continued westbound after the collision and fled the area.

Shortly after the Bristol Police posted the video of the accident on the Department’s Facebook page, Bristol Police began receiving several anonymous tips through the Department’s Tip411 App. These tips led Bristol Police Detectives to develop information on a possible suspect and suspect vehicle. On Jan. 3, 2023, Bristol Police Detectives located a 2017 white Ford F-350 pickup truck at a Portsmouth residence. Also located at this residence was a trailer identical to the one seen in the video. Both the truck and trailer were observed to have damage consistent with striking the parked vehicle on Bay View Ave. The damage observed by Bristol Police Detectives along with other evidence developed through further investigation linked the White Ford truck, and trailer, to the hit-and-run accident that occurred on Dec. 30, 2022, on Bay View Ave in Bristol.

The owner of the pickup truck will be cited by Bristol Police for several traffic offenses that will be adjudicated under the jurisdiction of the Rhode Island Traffic Tribunal.”