Warwick man charged with reckless driving after destroying graves during rollover crash in Burrillville

BURRILLVILLE – A Warwick man is facing charges after reportedly leaving the scene of an accident on Church Street, where police say he flipped a vehicle, landing in a cemetery and destroying gravestones before fleeing the scene in the first hour of 2025.

Ronald Mallon, 41, of 52 Logan St., Warwick, was arrested on Sunday, Jan. 5 after reporting to Burrillville Police headquarters, according to Lt. Robert Veader.

Officers reportedly responded to the area of Historical Cemetery site 13 on Church Street at 12:36 a.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 1 for reports of a single car rollover crash. According to police, the operator of a 2009 Subaru failed to negotiate a curve in the road, driving onto the curb and striking the wall in front of the cemetery, which launched the vehicle into the air.

“The vehicle then landed on and slid over several grave stones, destroying them,” said Veader, who notes the car finally came to rest in a nearby driveway.  

The reporting party told police the driver had fled the area on foot prior to their arrival.

“Officers and EMS personnel searched the area for the operator, however, (they) were unable to locate the operator while on scene,” Veader said.

Police later identified Mallon as the driver, and he admitted to being the operator and sole occupant. Mallon was charged with reckless driving- 2^nd offense, a felony, and issued a series of traffic citations including operating an unregistered vehicle, failure to notify police of an accident, operating without insurance, laned roadway violation and improper use of registration – as the plates on the vehicle did not match the Subaru, according to Veader.

State criminal records show Mallon is no stranger to police. His record dates back to 2001, when he was arrested for larceny in Warwick, a charge he also faced there in 2004. Pages of past charges in the Rhode Island criminal database include many incidents of driving with a suspended license, along with driving without a license or consent of the owner in Providence in 2004; possession of a stolen motor vehicle or parts, driving without a license and receiving stolen goods in Providence in 2004; driving without consent of the owner in Warwick in 2005; possession of a stolen motor vehicle or parts in Warwick in 2005; possession and receiving stolen goods in Cranston in 2005; second degree robbery and domestic assault in North Providence in 2006; larceny, breaking and entering, and multiple counts of receiving stolen goods in North Providence in 2006; and entering a building with felonious intent in North Providence in 2006.

In 2009, Mallon was charged with domestic burglary, disorderly conduct, domestic assault, refusal to relinquish a phone and vandalism in West Warwick; and in 2011 with domestic assault and refusal to relinquish a phone in Providence; and domestic assault, disorderly conduct and violation of a no contact order in Coventry. His additional offenses include domestic assault in Woonsocket in 2012 as well as assault, resisting arrest and violation of a no contact in a separate incident that same year; disorderly conduct in Warwick in 2012; larceny, resisting arrest and violation of a no contact order in West Warwick in 2013; domestic assault, disorder conduct and vandalism in West Warwick in 2016; failure to stop resulting in serious bodily injury in West Warwick in 2016 and failure to stop resulting in damage to a vehicle in 2019. More incidents in West Warwick included domestic violence and reckless driving in 2019; domestic violence and resist arrest in 2020; and domestic violence and assault in 2022, and again in 2023.

On the recent Burrillville charge, Mallon was released on a $5,000 surety bond. He is due back in court on Monday, April 7.