Speeding car crashes on Route 44 in Rehoboth, injuring three

REHOBOTH -- Three people, a driver and two passengers, were transported to Rhode Island Hospital early Thursday morning after their car crashed in woods off Route 44, throwing one of the passengers 30 feet from the vehicle.

About 1:59 a.m. Thursday, Rehoboth police were alerted to a vehicle "travelling at an extreme rate of speed" on Winthrop Street (Route 44) east bound from Seekonk, according to a release from the Rehoboth Police Department.

A short time later several 911 calls came into police dispatch reporting a motor vehicle crash in the area of 109 Winthrop St. Upon arrival on scene the officers located the vehicle in the woods on the south side of Winthrop Street, on its side, according to the release.

One male, later identified as the operator, was located sitting on the guardrail. A female passenger was assisted out of the vehicle by officers. The female then notified officers that a second passenger had also been in the vehicle and could not be located, the release states.

Officers searched the area and located the other passenger in the woods approximately 30 yards from the vehicle. This individual had been asleep in the rear passenger area of the vehicle and was ejected on impact.

All three suffered non-life threatening injuries.

Preliminary investigation indicates the vehicle was traveling east on Winthrop Street at a high rate of speed, according to police. The operator lost control while rounding a bend in the roadway, and the vehicle drove off the south side of the roadway into the woods and down into a gully, causing the vehicle to roll and come to a rest on the driver’s side.

The crash is under investigation by the Rehoboth Police Department. Rehoboth police were assisted at the scene by the Rehoboth Fire Department, Rehoboth and Seekonk EMS and the Dighton Police Department.