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December 4, 2006

Driver to serve 8 years as probation violator after fatal crash

PROVIDENCE -- A Woonsocket man has been sentenced to serve eight years in prison after a Superior Court judge ruled he violated the terms of his probation for driving drunk during a crash that killed three of his friends.

Patrick G. Coyle was serving an 8-year suspended sentence for selling drugs when he crashed his car on October 29, according to the police, who believe Coyle was drunk.

The three men killed in the crash at Winter Street and Harris Avenue in Woonsocket were brothers Victor and Steven Vasquez, 24 and 21, and Travis Thifault, 20.

Superior Court Judge Gilbert V. Indeglia ruled today that Coyle was driving drunk in violation of the terms of his probation. Indeglia ordered Coyle to serve the full eight years.

"In my mind there's no question that on this night the defendant Mr. Coyle was driving the automobile, and he was doing it in the most reckless of manners," Indeglia said.

A grand jury investigation is under way to determine what charges, if any, will be filed against Coyle.

-- With reports from projo.com staff writer Steve Peoples

Posted by Steve Peoples  at 12:57 PM | Permalink

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