LINCOLN, RI -- Three people were killed in a two-car crash that occurred shortly after 3:00 a.m. Sunday on Route 146 near Route 99 in Lincoln, according to state police.
One of the cars was traveling in the wrong direction, police said, and the operator didn't have a license to drive.
State Police Corporal Jay Gibbs identified the driver who caused the fatal accident as Aldo Almanzar, 39, of 126 School St., North Smithfield. He said Almanzar, who was killed, was driving for over a mile on 146 North in the wrong direction before crashing into a car operated by Andrew Hilow, 30, of Worcester, Mass. Hilow suffered serious bodily injuries in the accident and according to Gibbs, was in stable condition Sunday morning at Rhode Island Hospital.
Hilow's two passengers both died in the crash. They were identified by Gibbs as Alexis Correa and Isabel Vasquez, both 22 and from Worcester. Mr. Correa was the front passenger; Vasquez was sitting in the rear seat.
Neither Almanzar nor Vasquez were wearing seat belts but Gibbs said the impact so heavily damaged both the Honda Accord driven by Hilow and the Toyota Camry operated by Almanzar that that may not have made any difference.
Gibbs said the crash -- about 600 feet of Route 99 ---was head-on but that it was off center and "the majority of the impact was to the passenger side of the cars."
Gibbs said troopers are investigating whether speed or alcohol played any role in the crash.
Traffic was diverted off of Route 146 North for 3 1/2 hours after the crash, until 6:45 a.m.