Former state senator facing multiple charges after Rhode Island multi-boat collision ejects passenger

A local man and former politician is facing multiple charges after a recent boat crash.

According to police, on Friday, at just before 10:45 p.m., the Jamestown Police Department received an open 911 call that, based on GPS coordinates, appeared to be originating from the waterway off East Ferry in Jamestown. 

Officers were able to establish contact with the caller, who reported that he had just been involved in a marine accident with another vessel. The caller advised that his passenger had been ejected from the boat during the collision but had subsequently been located and safely brought back aboard. 

The Jamestown Police Department and Jamestown Fire & Rescue responded to the East Ferry area. The operator of the vessel, later identified as 47-year-old Dawson Hodgson of Saunderstown, Rhode Island, was able to navigate the 20-foot fiberglass vessel back to a slip at East Ferry, where emergency personnel met him. 

Officers on scene observed visible signs of intoxication while speaking with Hodgson. He was asked to perform Standardized Field Sobriety Tests, which he refused. Hodgson was subsequently taken into custody and charged with Operating Watercraft Under the Influence – First Offense (BAC Unknown), Watercraft Chemical Test Refusal – First Offense, and Failure to obey a lawful order (civil traffic violation).

“Whether you are operating a car or a boat, impairment can have tragic consequences,” said Chief James P. Campbell of the Jamestown Police Department. “Alcohol-related crashes are one of the leading causes of death in recreational boating and we strictly enforce our operating under the influence laws.” 

The passenger was evaluated by Jamestown EMS and declined medical treatment. Hodgson sustained minor injuries as a result of the accident and also declined medical treatment. 

Following the incident, the Jamestown Police Department, Jamestown Police Drone Unit, Jamestown Fire Department, Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management, and the United States Coast Guard conducted a thorough search of the area to ensure no additional individuals were in the water or otherwise in distress. 

The subsequent investigation determined that Hodgson’s vessel had struck an unoccupied, moored vessel in the Jamestown mooring field.

Hodgson is scheduled to appear in Newport County District Court on Wednesday, at 9:00 a.m. for his initial arraignment. He is also scheduled to appear at the Rhode Island Traffic Tribunal next Sunday, for the civil traffic violation of failure to obey a lawful order.

According to multiple reports, Hodgson was a member of the Rhode Island Senate who represented the 35th district from 2011 to 2015.