Middletown Police Stop Driver Linked To Newport Hit & Run

NEWPORT, RI — Newport police responded to Spring and Pope streets on Wednesday night to take a complaint about a hit and run driver. The accident happened at 6:51 p.m., and the victim told police he was in his car when the other driver struck him. He was able to give officers a description of the vehicle. Meanwhile, Newport police said, officers heard over the scanner that the Middletown police were following a driver traveling in their town. He was pulled over on Aquidneck Avenue in front of Anthony's Seafood at 7:24 p.m. Nicholas Downey, 27, of New Bedford, Mass., was charged with driving under the influence, first offense; refusal to submit to a chemical test; refusal to take a preliminary breathalyzer test, and several traffic violations. Newport police allege he was the hit and run driver involved in the crash on Pope and Spring streets and also charged him with leaving the scene of an accident (damage to an attended vehicle).