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WPRI 12 News
Westerly man charged in suspected DUI crash that injured passenger
By Jusolyn Flower,
15 hours ago
WESTERLY, R.I. (WPRI) — A Westerly man turned himself in to Connecticut State Police Monday night in connection with a serious crash last year that sent a woman to the hospital.
Connecticut State Police said Caleb Mikeworth, 24, was traveling south on I-95 in Groton, Connecticut on the morning of May 18, 2023, when he lost control of his vehicle and drove off the highway, ejecting the woman in his passenger seat.
Caleb Mikeworth (Courtesy: Connecticut State Police)
Police said the passenger underwent surgery after sustaining an open wound to the back of the head and a severe neck laceration.
A witness described Mikeworth’s driving as “erratic” and said he was “swerving dangerously.”
“Something happened to our car and we went completely off the road,” Mikeworth told police in a sworn statement days after the crash. “Something happened to the steering wheel when I slowed down and I couldn’t stop. I tried pressing the brake and it wouldn’t stop.”
He reportedly told police he got into a crash the week before and never got the car looked at, which was why the car was not working. However, Connecticut State Police noted in an affidavit that neither Mikeworth nor his car were documented to have crashed in the area.
Nearly two months later, the passenger told officers she and Mikeworth had been hanging out at a friend’s house and stayed over the night before the crash.
“I think the reason he was driving is because he couldn’t really wake me up because I’d drank too much,” she said, according to the affidavit. “I think he smoked some weed and we both had a couple of drinks.”
Police determined Mikeworth had failed to buckle the seat belt of his passenger and no mechanical issues were found on his car.
Further investigation revealed the 24-year-old had been under the influence of drugs and alcohol at the time of the crash.
Mikeworth is charged with second-degree reckless endangerment, DUI, speeding, second-degree assault with a motor vehicle, and failure to stay in the proper lane. He posted $40,000 bond and was then turned over to the custody of Stonington, Connecticut Police on an unrelated active arrest warrant.
Mikeworth is set to appear at New London Superior Court on Monday, Aug. 5.
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