Police ID Victim of Fatal Crash in Coventry

COVENTRY, RI—Coventry police identified the victim of a single-car crash on Route 117 early Monday as 20-year-old Matthew Colwell of West Warwick.

Police said Colwell was traveling at a high rate of speed before he crashed into a utility pole at the intersection of Main Street and Gail Court at around 1:47 a.m.

According to a news release, an officer on patrol near Coventry Town Hall saw Colwell’s vehicle drive by at a high rate of speed shortly before the crash.

“The officer turned his vehicle around intending to conduct a motor vehicle stop, but was unable to catch up to the vehicle and lost sight of the vehicle as it fled the area,” police said.

The officer came upon the crash a short time later and members of the Coventry Fire Department responded.

Colwell was pronounced dead at the scene and the crash was investigated by the police department’s BCI and accident reconstruction officers, police said.

The crash remains under investigation.

The impact broke the utility pole, causing an isolated power outage. National Grid responded to the scene to repair the pole.