At about 10:19 a.m., a motorist encountered Officer David Slinko and told him that a northbound Pontiac had passed through at a high rate of speed, swerving and driving on the sidewalk, Maddocks said.

Slinko then saw the blue Pontiac by a telephone pole at 602 Killingly St., he said.

Other people had been trying to administer first aid to the driver, Alviano, who was unconscious, Maddocks said. The vehicle’s engine was running.

Alviano regained consciousness and tried to put the car into gear, Maddocks said.

Slinko and another officer tried to break into the car through the driver’s side window, but the dazed motorist succeeded in pulling away from the scene, he said.

Slinko pursued Alviano briefly before the driver rear-ended the unmarked detective cruiser at the junction of Killingly and Traver streets, Maddocks said.

The distance between the location of the first crash and the location of the second crash is about 1,000 feet.

It appeared that traffic had brought Arcuri to a halt in front of Alviano at the time of the crash, but the circumstances were still under investigation yesterday, Maddocks said.

Arcuri was treated at Rhode Island Hospital and released.

Alviano was taken to Our Lady of Fatima Hospital in North Providence, he said. He has not been charged in the case.

-- Journal staff writer Mark Reynolds