Woonsocket Woman Sentenced For DUI Crash, Killing Providence Man, 25

WOONSOCKET, RI — A Woonsocket woman was sentenced to eight years in state prison after pleading to drunkenly causing a crash in Warwick that killed a 25-year-old man, Attorney General Peter Neronha said Tuesday.

On Oct. 19, Audriana Hill, 33 pleaded nolo contendere to driving under the influence, death resulting. The crash on Dec. 21, 2021, killed Caleb Winfrey, of Providence. Winfrey was a data analyst for the Rhode Island Department of Behavioral Healthcare, Developmental Disabilities and Hospitals.

"This case is a tragic example of the utter destruction that driving under the influence can cause," Neronha said. "Caleb Winfrey was a promising young man with his whole life ahead of him and his death is every parent’s worst nightmare realized. The defendant’s decision to drive drunk caused Caleb’s family the worst kind of pain imaginable, and I commend the courage they demonstrated when Caleb’s father provided a victim impact statement in court."

Had the case went to a trial, prosecutors said they were prepared to prove that on Dec. 7, 2021, Hill drove under the influence of alcohol and caused a crash that killed Winfrey.

Around 5:51 p.m., Warwick police were called to a crash with injuries at the intersection of West Natick Road and Bald Hill Road. Before the crash, Hill was driving 81 mph on Bald Hill Road, went through a solid red light, and never applied the brakes before slamming into Winfrey's car, prosecutors said.

First responders brought both Winfrey and Hill to Rhode Island Hospital. Prosecutors said after using a hydraulic tool to extricate Hill from her vehicle, they found two empty nips in her clothes and smelled alcohol from her breath. Prosecutors said investigators also found four open containers of alcohol at the scene of the crash.

Prosecutors said police followed Hill to the hospital, where she consented to a chemical blood test. Hill's blood-alcohol level was 0.165 percent, according to prosecutors.

"This tragedy was completely avoidable, and unfortunately we see impaired driving cases like this one all too often," Warwick Police Chief Bradford Connor said. "While there is no justice that can undo the pain caused to this victim’s family, I commend their bravery in making sure the defendant was held accountable."

Following Hill's prison sentence she must serve 15 years of probation.

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