NORTH SMITHFIELD – The driver who crashed into the Town Hall building Wednesday evening was speeding away from officers attempting to pull her over, and assaulted an officer after the crash according to a release from the North Smithfield Police Department.
Stephanie Plante, 32, of Johnston, was charged with three counts of possession of narcotics, driving under the influence, assault on a police officer, resisting arrest, reckless driving, disorderly conduct, possession of marijuana and driving with a suspended license, 3rd offense, following the incident.
According to police, the incident began around 9 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 18 when a North Smithfield patrol officer attempted to stop the vehicle Plante was driving, a 2005 Honda Accord. The driver reportedly did not yield for police and instead accelerated north on Victory Highway, turning onto North Main Street.
“Once the vehicle turned onto North Main Street, it accelerated at a high rate of speed and the officer who was attempting to stop the vehicle temporarily lost sight of said vehicle at the bend in the road near North Smithfield Town Hall,” noted a release from the department.
The vehicle hit Town Hall with enough force that the rear portion of the car had been torn away, according to police.
The side of the building, a historic structure built in the early 1920s, was damaged in the incident.
Both Plante and the female passenger reportedly appeared to be uninjured.
Plante was combative and assaulted one of the officers on scene, and pepper spray was used to subdue the suspect, according to officers.
She was transported to Landmark Medical Center for evaluation, and officers reportedly located several types of narcotics in the vehicle, as well as marijuana.
Plante was later transported to the North Smithfield Police Department where she was booked, processed and held pending arraignment in Third District Court.
[…] the building sustained damage from a crash in recent years. In 2019 a vehicle split in two after veering off the nearby roadway and hitting the […]