VIDEO: Car Runs Red Light on East Side, Almost Hits Person on Scooter, and Ends Up Near Mayor’s Door

VIDEO: Car Runs Red Light on East Side, Almost Hits Person on Scooter, and Ends Up Near Mayor’s Door

On Wednesday afternoon, shortly after 4:30 PM, a dash cam captured what could have been a deadly incident on the East Side of Providence.

The camera footage shows cars stopped at the intersection of Hope and Angell Streets by the Wheeler School.

As the light turns green on Hope Street — and a white "walk" signal is seen indicating pedestrians can cross — a black sedan stopped on Angell Street guns it through the red light.

The car loses control in the rain, jumping the sidewalk on Hope Street, nearly missing a fire hydrant, before swerving into the lane of oncoming traffic on Hope Street.

The video shows that the car narrowly missed a person riding legally on the road on a motorized scooter.
 
The car comes to a stop on the wrong side of the road, in front of Providence Mayor Brett Smiley’s home on Hope Street.

The incident came on the day Smiley announced his plan to address traffic issues plaguing the city since the Rhode Island Department of Transportation Washington Bridge failure.

Traffic through the city, but especially the East Side and downtown, has increased since the westbound portion of the bridge was closed in December.

Moreover, repeated incidents of increasingly aggressive driving in response have put other vehicles and pedestrians at risk throughout the city.