LEOMINSTER — On Friday, September 26, 2025, Officer Robert Connors of the Leominster Police Department was dispatched to the area of Main Street by the Golden Nozzle Car Wash following a report of an erratic operator.
(The account and quotations in this article were sourced from the printed Personnel Narrative of Officer Robert Connors and do not reflect any political perspective or personal opinion of News Link Live, which is strictly a business entity.)
Officer Connors said dispatch advised him that the reporting party had witnessed a red Ford Focus crash into a guardrail on Route 2, before the driver exited the vehicle and threw up, then proceeded to get back into the vehicle and keep driving.
“Dispatch also notified me while I was enroute that the red Ford had gotten off the highway and was heading inbound on Main Street,” Officer Connors said.
After turning onto Main Street, Officer Connors observed a red Ford Focus with right-front damage traveling past Evergreen Cemetery toward North Main Street.
“I Immediately turned around and went to pull the vehicle over,” Officer Connors said. “Before I was able to stop the vehicle, I observed the red Ford accelerate, attempt to brake, and swerve into a utility pole, before coming to a rest in the parking lot of Sookie’s Restaurant at 174 Main Street.”
Officer Connors noted that the vehicle not only crashed into the utility pole but it also struck a street sign and a concrete parking barrier as well.
“The red Ford was smoking,” Officer Connors said. “Due to the nature of the accident, in addition to the smoke coming from the vehicle, I radioed dispatch and requested that the Leominster Fire Department respond.”
At this time, Sergeant James McKenna arrived on scene.
“I then exited my cruiser and went around to the driver’s side of the red Ford, where I witnessed a male party, identified as Manuel Cardona Rios, in the driver’s seat,” Officer Connors said.
According to police, Manuel A. Cardona, 48, is a resident of West Street in Leominster, MA.
“I also observed two small children in the back seat of the red Ford (approximately 5 and 6 years old). It is important to note that neither child was in a properly secured car seat and neither child was wearing a seatbelt,” Officer Connors said. “I ordered Manuel to exit the vehicle. Manuel seemed confused, and I had to repeat this command several times before Manuel stepped out of the car, dropping a half-eaten cupcake on his way out of the vehicle.”
Officer Connors said that once Cardona exited the car he immediately began to vomit.
“I asked Manuel where he was coming from, and he stated ‘Lowell,’” Officer Connors said. “I asked Manuel if he had consumed any drugs or alcohol, to which he told me he did not.”
Cardona continued to throw up.
Officer Renzo Vasconcelos, who had also responded to the scene, removed the children from the back seat of the car.
“Both children were crying and seemed to be in distress,” Officer Connors noted. “I asked Manuel again if he took anything. Manuel started to answer, but his eyes began to roll back in his head, and he could not finish his sentence. Manuel appeared to be nodding off. I asked Manuel again, and he seemed to ‘wake up’ a bit, and tried to answer my question, before nodding off again. It should be noted that I also was shining my flashlight at Manuel’s face, and he had no reaction to the light. I could not see his pupils at this time as his eyes kept rolling back in his head.”
At this time, the Leominster Fire Department arrived on scene.
“The paramedics began to speak with Manuel, while I went over to speak with the two small children,” Officer Connors.
Officer Connors said the two boys, ages 5 and 6, identified themselves before being evaluated by the Leominster Fire Department.
“I went back over to Manuel, who was being questioned by two paramedics,” Officer Connors said. “The paramedics asked Manuel what he took, to which I heard him state ‘4 or 5.’ The paramedics asked him what he meant by ‘4 or 5,’ and Manuel stated ‘drugs.’ Manuel then stated, ‘two alcohol.’ The paramedics asked him what kind of drugs and alcohol, but Manuel was nodding off again and unable to answer.”
Officer Connors said that, due to the nature of the crash, Cardona’s vomiting, and overall state, he was transported to the hospital.
“I informed Officer Vasconcelos that Manuel was under arrest and being charged with OUI Drugs, and Officer Vasconcelos followed Manuel up to the hospital,” Officer Connors said.
“At this time, I went to speak with [Cardona’s sons] again to see if they knew their home address or to see if we could find out who their mother was,” Officer Connors said. “Both children did not know where they lived but told me that their mother’s name was Nadia. I radioed dispatch again and asked if we had any female parties living out of Manuel’s address ([# redacted] West Street Apt. [# redacted] in Leominster). Dispatch advised me that they did not have any contact information and would send another unit by the house to attempt to make contact”
At this time, the Leominster Fire Department transported Cardona’s sons to Leominster Hospital for further medical evaluation.
“Both children appeared to be in good condition but were visibly shaken by the events that had occurred,” Officer Connors said. “At this time, I conducted a motor vehicle inventory, as the car was going to be towed due to damage sustained from the accident. I found a bag with multiple prescriptions including multiple bottles of buprenorphine. All these bottles were prescribed to Manuel, and I also observed several open packets of buprenorphine inside the bottles.”
Officer Connors said he also located Cardona’s cell phone, which Sergeant McKenna used to call, Darlene Cardona, the aunt of Cardona’s sons.
“Sgt. McKenna was able to get information from Darleen about [the boys’] mother, Nadia Piche and their father, Paul Andrews,” Officer Connors said. “It was also at this time that I found out from Officer [Noah] DeCesare, who had gone to [# redacted] West Street, that [the boys] were not Manuel’s children, rather they were his ex-girlfriend’s daughter’s children.”
While inventorying the vehicle, Officer Vasconcelos radioed Officer Connors to report that Cardona had been read his Miranda rights and that, upon arrival at the hospital, Leominster firefighters found a small bag containing a suspected controlled substance on the stretcher with him.
“This information was passed along to dispatch, who was able to reach Nadia, who stated she would be coming from Keene New Hampshire to collect her children at the hospital,” Officer Connors said. “At this time, Imperial Towing showed up to remove the red Ford from the scene of the accident.”
Once the vehicle was towed, Officer Connors went to Leominster Hospital to give Cardona a copy of his citation.
“I then met with Officer Vasconcelos and Manuel. Manuel was alert at this time, and Officer Vasconcelos stated to me that he had become more alert when the Leominster Fire Department had given him a dose of Narcan,” Officer Connors said. “Officer Vasconcelos also stated to me that Manuel was read his Miranda Rights and continued to talk with police.”
Officer Connors then asked Cardona what led up to the accident.
“Manuel stated to me that he was coming from his father’s house in Lowell, and that there was a party there who sold drugs. Manuel also stated to me that he believed this party had ‘slipped something into his ginger ale’ and he began to feel lightheaded at his father’s house,” Officer Connors said. “I asked Manuel why he decided to drive despite feeling unwell, especially with two small children in the back seat not properly buckled in. Manuel went quiet.”
Officer Connors then asked Cardona to explain the baggie of drugs that the Leominster Fire Department had found on him, and he stated that the drug dealer at the party at his father’s house “must have thrown it in his car.”
“Officer Vasconcelos stated to me at this time that Manuel had told him that one of the substances in the baggie was heroin, but refused to identify the other substance inside the baggie,” Officer Connors said. “I then asked Manuel why he continued to drive despite hitting a guard rail on Route 2 and getting out of the car to vomit per the calling party, and Manuel refused to answer this question as well.”
Manuel Cardona was charged with the following (Officer Connor’s reasoning for the charges is in quotations):
- Possession of a Class A Substance – “While being transported by the Leominster Fire Department, the paramedics found a small baggie which contained two small baggies inside it (one which was a brown powdery substance and one which was a purple powdery substance) on the stretcher beside Manuel,” Officer Connors said. “Officer Vasconcelos told me that Manuel admitted to him that one of the baggies was heroin but refused to say what the purple powdery substance was. Both substances have been submitted for testing. I weighed the two substances using a scale from the OIC [Officer-in-Charge’s] office, and the baggie came out to be 1.77 grams.”
- OUI Drugs
- Child Endangerment while OUI – “Manuel was arrested for OUI drugs after a serious accident with two small children that were not his in the back seat of the vehicle,” Officer Connors said. “Neither child was properly secured in a car seat, and neither child was wearing a seatbelt at the time of the accident. Both children were visibly distressed and crying upon my arrival. Manuel’s actions could have seriously injured if not killed these two children. Both children were transported by the Leominster Fire Department to Leominster Hospital for further medical evaluation due to the severity of the crash.”
- Negligent Operation of a Motor Vehicle
Officer Connors said that Cardona was also issued a citation for the following:
- Marked Lanes Violation
- Child Under 8 Years & Under 58 Inches Without a Car Seat (two counts)
“I have also filed a 51A for both [children] with DCF, as well as an immediate threat on Manuel with the RMV,” Officer Connors said.
(A 51A form is a mandatory report that professionals in Massachusetts, who work with children, must file with the DCF when they suspect that a child is being abused, neglected, or both).
Cardona was arraigned in Leominster District Court on Sept. 29, 2025. Following his arraignment, he was released on $200 cash bail. His next court date is a pretrial hearing scheduled for Nov. 3, 2025.
Disclaimer: If you are wondering why the incident in this story took place in September, that’s because I had to file FOIA request(s) to obtain the court documents. FOIAs are time-consuming.
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