The Deacon's Bench
Bishop Robert J. McManus, head of the Diocese of Worcester, was arrested for driving under the influence this weekend after police stopped him in Narragansett, R.I., police said.
McManus was arrested at 10:32 p.m. Saturday on charges of drunken driving, leaving the scene of an accident, and refusing a chemical test, Narragansett Police Captain Sean Corrigan said. McManus is to be arraigned Tuesday in district court in Wakefield, R.I.
“I made a terrible error in judgment by driving after having consumed alcohol with dinner,” McManus said in a statement. “There is no excuse for the mistake I made, only a commitment to make amends and accept the consequences of my action.”
“More importantly,” he said, “I ask forgiveness from the good people whom I serve, as well as my family and friends, in the Diocese of Worcester and the Diocese of Providence.”
Corrigan told reporters this afternoon that McManus was involved in an accident with another motorist at the intersection of Bridgetown Road and Boston Neck Road.
McManus drove off, Corrigan said. The other driver followed him and called police. Officers arrested the bishop about 20 minutes later in the Bonnet Shores beachfront community on suspicion of drunken driving, according to Corrigan.
He declined to release additional details of the arrest before the arraignment. Asked if the other driver was hurt, Corrigan said, “If there had been serious injuries, then the charges would reflect that. So there [were] no serious injuries.”
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