A Toyota Camry barreled off Oaklawn Avenue in Cranston on Friday, slamming into a utility pole and then into Freeway Car Wash, leaving both with extensive damage. The driver, a 47-year-old Scituate man, told officers afterward that he had fallen asleep at the wheel moments before the crash.
Cranston police responded to 801 Oaklawn Ave. after the crash report came in, according to WJAR. The Camry had been traveling north on Oaklawn Avenue when it left the roadway, struck the pole and then crashed into the car wash. Officials said both the pole and the business sustained extensive damage.
Police identified the driver as Michael Lunsmann, 47, of Scituate. He told officers he had dozed off behind the wheel just before losing control, according to Cranston police. Authorities charged him with DUI and took him into custody following the investigation, and he was also cited for a lane-roadway violation and for operating without evidence of insurance.
Part of a Pattern on Cranston's Streets
Lunsmann's crash is just the latest in a string of DUI-related collisions that have rattled Cranston neighborhoods in recent months. Earlier this year, police arrested a Pawtucket man after he tried to drive around a car ahead of him, lost control and struck two parked cars and a utility pole, per the same outlet's coverage. In October, a 28-year-old Cranston man, Tyler Coutu, was arrested on a DUI charge following an early-morning crash near 44 Randall Street and was held pending arraignment, officials said.
Another incident saw a 19-year-old woman, Marnie Russo of Colchester, Vermont, crash into a utility pole near St. Mary's Church on Cranston Street around 11:23 p.m. on a Saturday night. Police reported she showed symptoms of impairment, and she and her two passengers were hospitalized with minor injuries. A separate crash months earlier sent a vehicle into the front of Equis Lounge in Cranston, causing significant damage, though the building remained structurally sound, according to GoLocalProv.
A Statewide Problem Behind the Wheel
The repeated crashes into poles and storefronts around Cranston echo a broader trend flagged by state data. According to a Rhode Island Department of Transportation page citing National Highway Traffic Safety Administration figures, 37% of the state's traffic fatalities in 2024 involved a driver with a blood alcohol concentration of 0.08 or higher, above the 30% national average.
No further details have been released about Lunsmann's case beyond the charges and citations issued at the scene. Freeway Car Wash and the damaged utility pole remain impacted following the crash, with no word yet on repair timelines.
