RI House Rep's Car Caught Passing Stopped School Bus Boarding Children

EAST GREENWICH, RI—One perk to getting elected in Rhode Island is the exclusive license plate emblazoned with an official looking badge doled out to members of the House and Senate.

It also makes the cars owned by lawmakers easy to spot in traffic—and easy to find after a car is caught committing a major traffic violation.

That's exactly what happened in East Greenwich on March 28 when a car belonging to House Rep. Eileen Naughton (D-Dist. 21, Warwick) was seen passing a stopped school bus in an intersection.

According to a police report, a woman at the bus stop at the intersection of Sixth Avenue and Second Street watched a man drive past the bus and turn left at the intersection despite the red flashing lights and extended stop sign on the bus.

A female passenger was in the car with the man, the woman said, and she noticed the license plate: House 21.

After getting her children on the school bus, the woman said she went after the offending vehicle and located it in a doctor's office parking lot on Main Street. She snapped a picture with her cell phone and emailed it to detectives, according to the report.

Police corroborated the woman's story by interviewing the bus driver, an employee of Ocean State Transit, who gave a written statement that he did see the car with the House 21 plate pass his bus at the intersection.

Then, police said, an officer spoke with the Naughtons' son, who said he spoke to his father, William C. Naughton, who was driving at the time to take his mother to the doctor's office.

"Based on the above statements I issued [a] summons," the officer said in his report.

Naughton said in a statement that the incident was a regretful error and unintentional.

"Unbeknownst to my husband, he crossed an intersection where a school bus had formally stopped," Naughton said. "It was a rainy day and he did not realize that the bus had its sign extended. While this incident was not intentional, he regrets this error and takes full responsibility."

Mr. Naughton is due to appear in court on April 26 for a mandatory court appearance.

A person convicted of the violation could face a fine of no more than $300 and see a license suspension of 30 days for a first offense.

Naughton has represented Warwick since 1992.