Car Hits 18-Wheeler on Plainfield Pike

Update, 4:22 pm:

St. Rocco School issued the following statement after a woman ran into the school pursued by a Johnston Police officer at dismissal time on Friday afternoon.

"This afternoon, towards the end of dismissal when most students had already left the building, a vehicular accident, which did not involve anyone from St. Rocco’s, occurred near the school. A woman allegedly left the scene of the accident and was pursued by law enforcement on the campus of St. Rocco’s. Pursued by a police officer, the woman entered the school and was apprehended. The few remaining faculty, staff and students were safe at all times. St. Rocco School would like to thank the Johnston Police Department for their rapid response to the situation."

A Patch staffer who was traveling in the area saw the uniformed officer running down the center of Atwood Avenue toward St. Rocco Church at about 2:25 pm, then turn between cars that had stopped in the roadway and run into the driveway of the church toward the back lot.

Within a few seconds, a woman in a striped shirt emerged from between the school and church with the officer about 20 feet behind, then ran across the front yard of the school and leapt up the front steps of the school, past a school staffer and about a half-dozen students gathered in the entry for dismissal.

Original Post, 2:59 pm:

Johnston Police responded to the Cranston/Johnston line on Friday at about 2:30 pm for a car apparently hitting an 18-wheel truck and becoming wedged under the cargo box.

As traffic clogged in front of St. Rocco School, a Johnston officer was seen in a foot chase with a woman on the grounds of St. Rocco Church. The woman ran into the nearby school, trailed by the officer.

The accident occurred during the busy afterschool pick-up time for St. Rocco, with children and their parents walking on Atwood Avenue, and dozens of cars trying to drive around the crash scene.

With the Plymouth Neon partially crushed under its frame, the cab of the truck faced the direction of Atwood Avenue from Plainfield Pike.

Cranston Police also responded to the crash.