Rhode Island
Hit and run crash in Cranston sidelines RI food blogger Patty J
What to know about Cranston, RI’s second largest city
In 2017, Cranston surpassed Warwick to become Rhode Island’s second largest city after Providence.
As Patty Jeffrey prepares for surgery on three broken bones, she can’t help thinking about how her life changed in an instant after being hit by a car on Budlong Road in Cranston on Sunday, Jan. 11.
“It’s a tough pill to swallow,” said Jeffrey, who is better known as the popular food blogger “Patty J” and “pattyjdotcom.”
Her livelihood is all about her adventures exploring Rhode Island, and its restaurants and cafes. Her Instagram account has nearly 44,000 followers. All that is on hold now as she is laid up with a broken ankle, broken lower fibula and broken toe.
Her whole blog life is finding activities and dining around the state, she said. The broken bones on her left leg and foot are “definitely a problem for what I do.”
Right now, she is home, keeping the leg and foot elevated as she awaits surgery on Friday. She needs help doing everything, she said. She is facing a recovery that could take a full year.
Jeffrey also finds herself frustrated by the fact that the hit-and-run driver has not come forward or been found.
“It all happened so fast,” she recounted about the crash.
It was a mild night about 5 p.m. when she and her husband Tom Paolino left their home to walk to Garden City. They had turned from Everett Road to Budlong Road.
“Cars do go fast on that road,” she said. “There was a long line of cars coming down the hill, where Dean Parkway becomes Budlong Road.”
They waited.
They were on the opposite side of the road from Seven Stars Bakery and Chelo’s when they began walking single file to go to the next corner.
“I took no more than five steps, and I heard myself say ‘What the …?’ Then it all went black. Next thing I know I hear my husband calling my name, “Patty Patty Patty.” He is in a daze and I tried to get up. My left shoe was off. I pulled myself to the sidewalk but I knew something was badly wrong with my leg.”
With her memory and witness observations, she said there was a car a block away pulling into Chelo’s. It was the vehicle behind that car, a grey or silver SUV with no headlights on, that impatiently went around that car and hit the couple, Jeffrey said.
“Both of us fell forward,” she said. “I got propelled into the street and could have gotten run over by a second car if others hadn’t jumped into the street to stop traffic. I could have been killed.”
Her husband was bruised but not injured. He wears a fitness tracker and it froze at 5:11 p.m., she said.
One of the bystanders stayed with her, telling her not to move in case her neck was hurt. The ambulance was called.
Among the things Jeffrey was told in the time after the crash was that people in the Chelo’s parking lot heard the car hit her and her husband. Witnesses gave statements to the police, she said.
“I’m just surprised no one with a Ring doorbell camera saw the car,” she said. “There has to be someone out there who saw the car.” Her family is offering a reward, though she doesn’t know the amount, she said.
“Whoever was driving that vehicle had to know they hit two people,” she said.
The Cranston Police Department did not immediately respond to a request for information on the crash.
The Rhode Island Lottery offers multiple draw games for those aiming to win big.
Here’s a look at March 4, 2026, results for each game:
Winning Powerball numbers from March 4 drawing
07-14-42-47-56, Powerball: 06, Power Play: 4
Check Powerball payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Numbers numbers from March 4 drawing
Midday: 2-7-4-4
Evening: 7-6-0-2
Check Numbers payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Wild Money numbers from March 4 drawing
08-11-12-18-24, Extra: 15
Check Wild Money payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Millionaire for Life numbers from March 4 drawing
12-13-36-39-58, Bonus: 03
Check Millionaire for Life payouts and previous drawings here.
Feeling lucky? Explore the latest lottery news & results
Are you a winner? Here’s how to claim your prize
- Prizes less than $600 can be claimed at any Rhode Island Lottery Retailer. Prizes of $600 and above must be claimed at Lottery Headquarters, 1425 Pontiac Ave., Cranston, Rhode Island 02920.
- Mega Millions and Powerball jackpot winners can decide on cash or annuity payment within 60 days after becoming entitled to the prize. The annuitized prize shall be paid in 30 graduated annual installments.
- Winners of the Millionaire for Life top prize of $1,000,000 a year for life and second prize of $100,000 a year for life can decide to collect the prize for a minimum of 20 years or take a lump sum cash payment.
When are the Rhode Island Lottery drawings held?
- Powerball: 10:59 p.m. ET on Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday.
- Mega Millions: 11:00 p.m. ET on Tuesday and Friday.
- Lucky for Life: 10:30 p.m. ET daily.
- Millionaire for Life: 11:15 p.m. ET daily.
- Numbers (Midday): 1:30 p.m. ET daily.
- Numbers (Evening): 7:29 p.m. ET daily.
- Wild Money: 7:29 p.m. ET on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday.
This results page was generated automatically using information from TinBu and a template written and reviewed by a Rhode Island editor. You can send feedback using this form.
When it comes to expressing ourselves, Rhode Islanders have elevated license plates to an art form. You might not be able to get a new vanity plate — the state suspended applications in 2021 after a judge ruled a Tesla owner could keep his FKGAS plates — but you can still express your Rhody pride with one of seventeen state-approved charity plates. The program has funded ocean research, thrown parades, saved crumbling lighthouses and even provided meals for residents. About half of the $43.50 surcharge goes to the associated charity, while the other half covers the production cost.
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License plate images courtesy of the Rhode island division of motor vehicles.
Atlantic Shark Institute
Year first approved: 2022
Plates currently on road: 7,007
Total raised: $269,530
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License plate images courtesy of the Rhode island division of motor vehicles.
Friends of Plum Beach Lighthouse
Year first approved: 2009
Plates currently on road: 5,024
Total raised: $336,890
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License plate images courtesy of the Rhode island division of motor vehicles.
Wildlife Rehabilitators Association of Rhode Island
Year first approved: 2013
Plates currently on road: 2,102
Funds raised: $32,080
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License plate images courtesy of the Rhode island division of motor vehicles.
Rocky Point Foundation
Year first approved: 2016
Plates currently on road: 1,616
Funds raised: $50,450
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License plate images courtesy of the Rhode island division of motor vehicles.
Rhode Island Community Food Bank
Year first approved: 2002
Plates currently on road: 765
Funds raised since 2021: $11,060*
*Prior to 2021, customers ordered plates directly through the food bank, and total revenue numbers are not available.
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License plate images courtesy of the Rhode island division of motor vehicles.
New England Patriots Charitable Foundation
Year first approved: 2009
Plates currently on road: 1,472
Funds raised: $136,740
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License plate images courtesy of the Rhode island division of motor vehicles.
Audubon Society of Rhode Island and Save the Bay
Year first approved: 2006
Plates currently on road: 1,132
Funds raised: $61,380 for each organization (proceeds split evenly)
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License plate images courtesy of the Rhode island division of motor vehicles.
Boston Bruins Foundation
Year first approved: 2014
Plates currently on road: 1,125
Funds raised: $36,880
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License plate images courtesy of the Rhode island division of motor vehicles.
Beavertail Lighthouse Museum Association
Year first approved: 2023
Plates currently on road: 1,105
Funds raised: $37,610
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License plate images courtesy of the Rhode island division of motor vehicles.
Bristol Fourth of July Committee
Year first approved: 2011
Plates currently on road: 1,104
Funds raised: $17,640
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License plate images courtesy of the Rhode island division of motor vehicles.
Red Sox Foundation
Year first approved: 2011
Plates currently on road: 860
Funds raised: $88,620
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License plate images courtesy of the Rhode island division of motor vehicles.
Gloria Gemma Breast Cancer Resource Foundation
Year first approved: 2012
Plates currently on road: 1,510
Funds raised: $33,360
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License plate images courtesy of the Rhode island division of motor vehicles.
Providence College Angel Fund
Year first approved: 2016
Plates currently on road: 693
Funds raised: $23,220
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License plate images courtesy of the Rhode island division of motor vehicles.
Rose Island Lighthouse and Fort Hamilton Trust
Year first approved: 2022
Plates currently on road: 383
Funds raised: $10,640
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License plate images courtesy of the Rhode island division of motor vehicles.
Friends of Pomham Rocks Lighthouse
Year first approved: 2022
Plates currently on road: 257
Funds raised: $7,580
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License plate images courtesy of the Rhode island division of motor vehicles.
Day of Portugal and Portuguese Heritage in RI Inc.
Year first APPROVED: 2018
Plates currently on road: 132
Funds raised: $3,190
PROVIDENCE, R.I. — Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha will release on Wednesday findings from a multiyear investigation into child sexual abuse in the Diocese of Providence.
According to the attorney general’s office, the report will detail the diocese’s handling of clergy abuse over decades.
While the smallest state in the U.S., Rhode Island is home to the country’s largest Catholic population per capita, with nearly 40% of the state identifying as Catholic, according to the Pew Research Center.
Neronha first launched the investigation in 2019, nearly a year after a Pennsylvania grand jury report found more than 1,000 children had been abused by an estimated 300 priests in that state since the 1940s. The 2018 report is considered one of the broadest inquiries into child sexual abuse in U.S. history.
Neronha’s investigation involved entering into an agreement with the Diocese of Providence to gain access to all complaints and allegations of child sexual abuse by clergy dating back to 1950. Neronha’s office said in 2019 that the goal of the report was to determine how the diocese responded to past reports of child sexual abuse, identify any prosecutable cases, and ensure that no credibly accused clergy were in active ministry.
Rhode Island State Police also helped with the investigation.
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