CRANSTON, R.I.– A local Rhode Island social media influencer and her husband are speaking out after they were hit by a car while walking in Cranston last Sunday.
They’re hoping the driver who allegedly hit them will come forward, or for someone to provide information that could help police as they investigate.
Patty Jeffrey, who many likely know as Patty J, is a social media food influencer. She recalled the moments after she and her husband Tom Paolino were allegedly hit by the vehicle, which took off after the incident.
“When I went to get up, I knew immediately that something was wrong with my left leg and I was just yelling ‘My ankle, my ankle, my foot, my foot,’ and when I put pressure on it, it was very bad,” Jeffrey said.
While the speed limit on Budlong Road is 25 miles per hour, the couple says it’s rarely followed by drivers.
“You see people texting, you see people with their head down not even looking, I’ll run with a few of my buddies and we’ll say ‘Hey this car is coming right at us,’ and we’ll get ready to go on the curb,” Paolino said.
According to Cranston police, the vehicle was described as a silver or gray SUV.
Paolino wasn’t hurt, but Jeffrey suffered a broken ankle and several other injuries to her leg.
It happened the same day a woman was hit and killed in Cranston on Scituate Avenue, and earlier this week, a dangerous high-speed chase ended in Cranston as well.
“There’s a lot of activity in this neighborhood that’s pedestrian and on foot, so that definitely has to be addressed, and in terms of what happened to us, I just want to see the person who did this, the person who hit us on the road and kept going, I want to see that person apprehended,” Jeffrey said.
Cranston police said the ongoing investigation into this incident has been forwarded to the traffic division.
