WPRI: Police make arrest in connection with deadly hit-and-run

Police have arrested a man in connection with a fatal hit-and-run Monday night on Newport Avenue.

The suspect is Paul Newman, 53, of Jacksonville, Florida. He is being charged with leaving the scene of an accident, death resulting.

A witness was able to see the driver’s license plate before the vehicle fled the scene. Police said they were then able to trace the plate to a rental car. Newman had returned the first vehicle not long after the accident and rented another, authorities said.

Newman later turned himself in, not long after East Providence Police made contact with him.

The woman was crossing Newport Avenue at about 8 p.m. when she was hit by a red SUV, which then took off, police said.