R.I. man shrugged and left scene of fatal I-95 crash, prosecutors say

A man who allegedly fled the scene of a fatal crash on Interstate 95 in North Attleborough appeared in court Tuesday, where prosecutors said he got out of his car and shrugged before driving away. 

Randall Ricketts, 58, of Foxborough, was killed in the crash, which also left a man in critical condition. 

Joseph Pompei, Jr., 50, of Cranston, R.I., was arrested not long after the incident. He was charged with motor vehicle homicide by negligent operation, leaving the scene of a crash, causing fatal injuries, and other offenses, according to State Police. Pompei is being held on $50,000 cash bail. 

At about 4:15 p.m. Monday, police received reports of a serious crash near Exit 7 on the northbound side of I-95. Two heavily damaged vehicles were found there, and witnesses told police that a third vehicle was involved but fled the scene after stopping briefly. 

Pompei was behind the wheel of a 2006 Buick LaCrosse traveling southbound when it collided with a Cadillac Escalade, police said. The driver of the Cadillac then lost control of the vehicle and careened into the median before striking a 2015 Jaguar XJ. Ricketts was driving the Jaguar in the northbound lanes. 

Ricketts was pronounced dead at the scene. The driver of the Cadillac, a 61-year-old man from Providence, R.I., suffered life-threatening injuries and is in critical condition at Rhode Island Hospital, police said. A woman and a child were also in the Cadillac. They were in stable condition afterwards. 

Prosecutors said Tuesday that witnesses saw Pompei exit his vehicle after the crash, make a “shrugging gesture,” and leave the scene, NBC10 Boston reported. According to a police report obtained by The Boston Globe, witnesses saw the driver of the Buick stop in the median, get out of his car, put his hands up, and then drive away.

A lawyer for Pompei said that he denies hitting any other cars, and that he got out of his car but did not see any other damaged cars and drove away, NBC reported. 

After the crash, the Buick was spotted by an off-duty North Attleborough police lieutenant in the parking lot of an apartment building, the Globe reported. Officers reportedly saw Pompei outside of the vehicle attempting to change a tire and applying duct tape to damaged parts of it. 

Police noticed white paint indicative of a collision on the front and back of the Buick, which also was dented, scratched, and had grass stuck to it, according to the Globe. 

Police recovered a pocket knife and a small container of pills from Pompei, who told authorities that they were ADHD medication. Pompei first told police that he was driving from Cranston to Boston to speak with someone about Pompei’s father, who he allegedly said was murdered, according to a police report obtained by the Globe. 

Pompei later changed his story, telling police that he was going to a class at a tractor trailer driving school in Pawtucket. Officers observed that Pompei had “pinpoint pupils” and that his speech would trail off into a whisper at times during the interview. Pompei’s version of events seemed “sporadic” and his statements seemed “paranoid,” police wrote in the report obtained by the Globe.  

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