Police: Warwick Man Staged Rear-End Crash on Park Ave.

Cranston Police charged a Warwick man with reckless driving last week after he allegedly staged a rear-end collision with a National Grid truck by slamming his brakes on Park Ave. in October.

According to police reports, Raymond L. Ellinwood, 60, of 15 Hobbit Ave., Warwick, told police a black cat darted into the street in front of his car, forcing him to stop short.

But multiple witnesses said there was no cat and one person told police she saw Ellinwood “stage the whole thing” and when he applied the brakes, “he tense[d] up” and appeared to “brace himself for impact before he slammed on the brakes.”

Police said the accident was the morning of Oct. 18 at about 700 Park Ave.

Ellinwood, driving his Ford Explorer, passed the utility truck when it pulled over for a passing fire truck. Ellinwood reportedly did not pull over for the fire truck along with the rest of traffic.

Moments later, Ellinwood stopped short, police said, initiating the crash.

Ellinwood was transported to Rhode Island Hospital, where he was issued citations for passing and stopping short.

Cranston Police charged Ellinwood with reckless driving on Nov. 13. He was released on $1,000 surety bail until a pretrial conference on Nov. 28, according to court records.