RIPTA CEO Scott Avedisian suspect in hit-and-run crash

The chief executive of the Rhode Island Public Transport Authority, Scott Avedisian, is a suspect in a hit-and-run crash in Warwick, R.I., according to court documents and confirmed by WPRI.

The three-car collision occurred at about 6 p.m. Wednesday in the drive-thru of the McDonald’s on Post Road, records show. The black SUV driven by Avedisian, 59, allegedly rearended a car, which then hit the car in front of it. Then the SUV allegedly left the scene.

Avedisian allegedly failed to notify police, provide information, and render aid, according to court documents.

“Initial report is that the subject rear-ended the car in front of him and motioned for the other operator to pull over in the parking lot and wait — and then the subject took off,” Warwick Police Chief Bradford Connor told WPRI. It is under investigation, and police are working to obtain video of the scene. No arrests had been made as of Friday.

The owner of the car struck by the black SUV is seeking to press charges, police said. The collision left minor damage to all vehicles. No one was injured.

Spokespeople for RIPTA, the R.I. Department of Transportation, and the governor’s office did not immediately comment on the incident.

Avedisian was mayor of Warwick from 2000 to 2018, when he was selected by then-governor Gina Raimondo to head the state’s transportation authority. Before serving as mayor, he represented Ward 1 in the Warwick City Council from 1990 to 2000.

Avedisian was involved in a rollover crash in Warwick in 2022. In that incident, police said at the time that he lost control of his SUV and hit a utility pole before the SUV flipped over.