Local musician on scooter killed by an alleged impaired driver in Newport; remembered as good man with sense of humor

A well-known local man has been identified as the victim in a fatal scooter collision.

According to police, on Wednesday at just after 10:30 p.m., Newport Police officers responded to 11 Memorial Boulevard following reports of a male in a motorized wheelchair laying on his stomach in the middle of the sidewalk. Officers that responded discovered it was related to a vehicle collision involving the pedestrian operating a motorized mobility scooter near the intersection of Memorial Boulevard and Chapel Street. 

Officers located the adult male lying in the median adjacent to the westbound lane of Memorial Blvd, having been thrown from his mobility scooter. 

The Preliminary investigation indicates the victim was using the painted/demarcated crosswalk heading north on his mobility scooter, nearing the center of the crosswalk, and heading toward Chapel St when he was struck by a gray Toyota Tacoma, driven by 47-year-old, Jose Monterroso Villagran, of 44 Warner Street, Newport, R.I. 

The force of the collision propelled the mobility scooter approximately 30 feet. The victim, 64-year-old John Miles of Newport was transported via Life Flight to Rhode Island Hospital where he later died. 

Following an on-scene investigation, Villagran was arrested and charged with Driving Under the Influence of Liquor or Drugs – Resulting in Serious Bodily Injury (1st Offense) and Driving Under the Influence of Liquor or Drugs -.10 to .15 BAC (1st Offense). Due to the passing of Miles, charges have been upgraded to DUI of Liquor or Drugs, Resulting in Death – 1st Offense.

Preliminary findings suggest the crosswalk’s safety warning devices were not manually activated at the time of the collision.

Miles was a well-known singer in the area and those who knew him described a man that was as good as his singing chops who also had a sense of humor.

One of his musical accomplishments was recording an album with the band Wave Avenue whose members included his talented son Sullayman.

The incident remains under investigation by the Criminal Investigation Division and Traffic Investigation Unit, with the assistance of the Rhode Island State Police Collision Reconstruction Unit. Anyone with any information regarding this incident can contact Detective John Sullivan at jsullivan@newportri.gov.