JPD Blotter: Disoriented Driver, Vacant Car

reported the following accidents this week:

Disoriented driver:

A local officer responded to the Burger King on Atwood Avenue on Aug. 26 at 1 pm to find a 94-year-old man behind the wheel of a car that had just struck the restaurant.

Ptlm. Mark Bairos reported that the driver, identified as John Capobianco, of Bradley Street, Providence, said his foot slipped off the brake pedal, causing the car to roll into the building.

Capobianco appeared to be "mildly disoriented," wrote Bairos, who added that when he asked Capobianco who was President, he replied: "Roosevelt."

Johnston Fire and Rescue personnel brought Capobianco to Fatima Hospital for treatment of minor injuries. He was not charged in the accident.

Vacant car:

Johnston Police charged a Connecticut man with driving with a suspended license after a witness told officers that he left the scene of a one-car accident on Aug. 25.

Paul Soscia, of Danielson, CT, was serving probation on a cocaine possession charge at the time of the accident, according to police reports.

Ptlm. Kevin Brady wrote that he responded to 2121 Plainfield St. for a report of a single-car crash.

When he arrived, Brady reported that he found the 2014 Toyota Tacoma resting against a rock wall with a traffic sign wedged under it.

The truck "had heavy damage to its from end including two completely [flattened] front tires," Brady wrote.

Officers checked the registration of the truck and found that it belonged to Soscia, who could not be found in the area of the accident.

Johnston Police filed the suspended license charge with Third District Court, Warwick, which is set to hear the case on Sept. 5.

Dropped purse blamed for three-car crash:

Following an Aug. 24 three-car accident on Atwood Avenue and Commerce Way (in front of Stop & Shop), officers cited a Pawtucket woman for failing to maintain proper distance from the cars in front of her.

Ptlm. Derek Ofori reported that Nicole Dionne told him that she had dropped her purse while driving on Atwood Avenue, and that when she took her eyes off the road, her car struck the 2005 Chrysler minivan driven by Anthony Merolla, which then hit the 2009 BMW driven by Michael St. Martin, of Lincoln.

Both of the airbags in Dionne's car deployed, Ofori wrote.

St. Martin's car sustained read-end damage, and Merolla's car had damage to the front and rear bumpers.

All three drivers and a passenger in Merolla's van were transported to the hospital for treatment.