Projo 7 to 7 News Blog

According to the state police, the three people whose vehicles were damaged when they struck the 38-year-old Woonsocket man were David Romano, 39, of 65 Brunswick Drive, Warwick, who was driving a Chevrolet Avalanche truck; Kevin Battersby, 38, of 66 Winthrop Ave., West Warwick, who was driving a Dodge Ram truck; and Joseph Dasilva, 43, of 33 Taddy Ave., Warren, who was driving a Dodge Journey.

The fourth driver who told the police she also struck the man is Delores Paolino, 68, of 59 Bay View Drive, West Warwick, who was driving a Toyota Avalon.

None of those four drivers was hospitalized, Marandola said. Three others were, after they were involved in subsequent crashes, because they said they were traumatized by what they saw on the highway.

Pernsley landed on Route 95 north after jumping from the Route 10 overpass, just north of Exit 16, Marandola said Monday.

Battersby said he swerved to avoid hitting a man in the roadway. "I was able to avoid running him over," but the running board of his truck clipped Pernsley.

Battersby said he pulled over to the left, called 911 and then, seeing a gap in traffic, drove to the relative safety of the right shoulder.

"If I would have stayed where I was parked, my car could have probably got crushed. That's when everything started going."

Thinking he had struck a man who had been ejected from the car that crashed into the barrier at the beginning of the exit ramp, Battersby said he "felt really horrible.

"Then later on a truck driver told me he had jumped over the overpass," Battersby said. "Him and his girlfriend were arguing, and he ran up the overpass and jumped off."

Battersby said he saw about 15 subsequent crashes. "Everyone kept hitting and going," he said. "Some people stopped. One woman did a 180. It was like something you'd see in a movie.

"I was just in shock," Battersby said.

He said he gathered with other survivors under the Route 10 bridge. "We just basically exchanged stories over there." State Police took their statements, and then they went to the Lincoln Barracks to complete written statements. He said he called his wife to tell her not to worry, and told his workplace that he wouldn't be coming in.

His heart was pounding at the time, and it wasn't the only part of him that was. "Everything's still pounding, he said at 3 p.m., after picking up his son and daughter from school. The first thing he did when he got home was, "I gave my wife a hug."

Lt. Col. Raymond S. White of the state police said that Gibson, Pernsley's passenger, was also taken to the hospital -- also for the trauma associated with what happened. She saw everything, he said, and police expect to speak with her.

The police are still trying to determine how everything unfolded, and they do not know yet if Pernsley was injured in the initial crash, according to White. They say he crashed his 1992 Chrysler LeBaron into a sign on Route 95 north, ran from his car up an embankment to the Route 10 overpass and leaped onto the highway around 5:52 a.m.

The four drivers hospitalized remained there shortly before noon, Marandola said.

The police took the four cars that apparently struck Pernsley back to the State Police barracks in Lincoln as they continued to investigate the crash, White said.

The crash forced the Rhode Island State Police to close a section of Route 95 north in the vicinity of exit 16 and divert traffic off onto Route 10 for about two hours. They reopened two lanes to traffic around 8 a.m.

Cranston rescue crews transported three people to the hospital, and a Providence rescue crew took one, Cranston Deputy Chief of Emergency Medical Services Leo F. Kennedy said.

The initial accident happened at 5:52 a.m. in Cranston, just before the exit for Route 10 and just before the Providence city line, Cranston Fire Capt. Thomas Schmitt said. A Cranston rescue crew was called back to the scene around 7:30 a.m., when the highway remained closed.

Battersby and his wife decided not to traumatize the children by talking about it.

"I'm not sure how to feel," he said, reporting a feeling of anxiety. "It was pretty weird. It's weird being there. It's a lot different than you think.

"It was just surreal," Battersby said. "I couldn't believe what was happening."

Paul Latraverse, Pernsley's landlord, was shocked to hear of his tenant's death. Latraverse was overseeing repairs at 109 Arnold St., where Pernsley and Gibson lived until three weeks ago. That was when they moved to a bigger apartment just a few blocks down the road at 267 High, also owned by Latraverse.

Pernsley and Gibson had lived at the first floor apartment for seven months, according to Latraverse.

Latraverse said Pernsley and Gibson both worked. He said Pernsley had just gotten a new job about a month ago, although it was unclear where he worked.

Latraverse said Pernsley was a good tenant.

"He was a great tenant," Latraverse said. "He was quiet. He always paid the rent."

CORRECTION: An earlier version of this story incorrectly identified which drivers were hospitalized, based on information provided by the state police.

This story was originally published at 7:04 a.m. and updated at 7:58, 8:19, 8:31, 9:08 and 11:44 a.m., and 12:02, 12:05, 12:37, 2:14, 2:37 and 4:38 p.m.