CHARLESTOWN, R.I. (AP) - Speed may have been a factor in a crash in Charlestown on New Year’s Eve that took the life of a local man, police announced Thursday.
Police identified the victim of the crash on U.S. Route 1 at about 4:45 p.m. Tuesday as David Bloomquist, 51, of Charlestown.
Bloomquist was knocked unconscious when his vehicle struck a tree and caught fire.
Police officers freed him from the car and he was taken by ambulance to Westerly Hospital where he was pronounced dead.
Arriving officers found that Bloomquist, who was traveling north, had crossed the median and southbound lanes before driving off the roadway and striking a tree.
The crash remains under investigation.
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