The Rhode Island Office of Attorney General will take over the prosecution of the CEO of the Rhode Island Public Transport Authority (RIPTA), who has been charged with a misdemeanor for allegedly leaving the scene of a fender bender at McDonald’s drive-thru in Warwick last week.

Warwick police cited Scott Avedisian, 59, for failing to provide information, render aid and notify police of the collision involving his agency-issued SUV at the Post Road McDonald’s on Wednesday, March 27, at around 6:14 p.m., according to a court summons filed with the Rhode Island Traffic Tribunal on Friday, March 29.

Avedisian will be formally charged in Kent County District Court some time this week, said Brian Hodge, a spokesperson for the attorney general’s office. Hodge said the state will handle the prosecution because there was a conflict with the Warwick City solicitor in this case.

If convicted of leaving the scene, Avedisian could be fined up to $1,000, lose his license for six months, and faces up to six months in prison.

Avedisian, who has been RIPTA’s director since 2018, did not respond to a request for comment. An agency spokesperson declined to comment on the alleged incident.

Avedisian’s attorney, former Rhode Island House Speaker John Harwood, did not respond to multiple inquiries on the matter.

WPRI-12 first reported Friday that Avedisian allegedly rear-ended a car in front of him in the drive-thru, causing it to strike the rear of the vehicle in front of it.

Avedisian reportedly motioned for the other operator to pull over in the parking lot to sort things out, but left the scene in his black Ford Explorer. The SUV is one of 51 “non-revenue vehicles” owned by the bus agency, spokesperson Cristy Raposo Perry said in an email to Rhode Island Current Monday. All RIPTA-owned vehicles are self-insured separately from the 2,000 state vehicles operating under the state fleet operations.

No arrests were made, but WPRI reported that Avedisian was cited for failing to report the crash to Warwick police. Warwick Police did not respond to multiple inquiries from Rhode Island Current Monday.

The incident comes as RIPTA itself tries to secure additional funding from the state to fill an $18.1 million budget shortfall heading into the next fiscal year. It also adds to another chapter of Avedisian’s controversial tenure as RIPTA’s leader and could further strain relationships with state leaders.

“They’ve been under a lot of scrutiny, and he’s acting irresponsibly — if not recklessly — with a state vehicle,” said John Marion, executive director for Common Cause Rhode Island.

Senate President Dominick Ruggerio, a vocal critic of Avedsian, declined to comment on the matter. Last year, Ruggerio proposed taking away RIPTA’s independence and moving it under the control of the Rhode Island Department of Transportation (RIDOT). Ruggerio’s proposal was eventually scaled back to just restructuring RIPTA’s board with the RIDOT director as the chairperson.

Prior to his appointment as the bus agency’s CEO, Avedisan was the mayor of Warwick from 2000 to 2018. Before that, he was a city councilor from 1990 to 2000. RIPTA’s Board of Directors gave Avedisan a two-year contract extension last spring.

(For more stories visit rhodeislandcurrent.com)