By Abbey Niezgoda
aniezgoda@abc6.com
Police say it all started the moment David Cepeda chose to get behind the wheel of a red DPW truck.
Cepeda was driving down Allens Avenue in Providence late Saturday night when he rear ended someone, and instead of stopping, the public works employee sped off.
When police finally tracked him down, they found that in addition to the DUI and leaving the scene, Cepeda's license had been suspended.
No one was home when ABC 6 knocked on the door, but legal analyst Ken Schreiber says Cepeda is not the only one who will have to answer as this case makes its way through the justice system.
"It's a total embarrassment to the city," Ken Schreiber, an attorney and legal analyst said. "We should not have drivers working for the biggest municipality that don't have licenses and driving city vehicles. It makes no sense whatsoever."
Schreiber says because this was on city time in a city vehicle, the city could very well be liable for the damage.
"You have a city employee, drinking on city time, who gets in an accident and has a suspended license," Schreiber said. "There's plenty of accountability to go around here. Someone has to be responsible and it's not just the driver."
Cepeda is scheduled to be arraigned in court Wednesday. He has been suspended without pay. Calls to the Department of Public Works have not been returned.
