SPRINGFIELD, Maine — The Springfield woman who suffered serious injuries when she was run over by her pickup truck Friday afternoon died shortly after her arrival at a Bangor hospital.
Lt. Kevin Donovan with Maine State Police confirmed Saturday that Janine Veilleux, 68, had died but did not have information regarding when her death occurred.
Veilleux was behind her full-sized Dodge pickup truck in the driveway of her Mooers Road home when the truck apparently fell out of gear and started rolling toward her at about 12:45 p.m., Trooper Christopher Foxworthy of the Maine State Police said Friday.
As Veilleux tried to stop the truck from rolling away, she went under it, Foxworthy said.
“She said that she thought she had set the parking brake on the pickup,” he said, adding that it appeared that her injuries occurred when the vehicle’s bell housing and axle went over her.
Afterward, Veilleux somehow was able to get inside her home, where she called 911, Foxworthy said. Veilleux , who was sitting inside and conscious when Foxworthy arrived, was flown by a LifeFlight helicopter to Eastern Maine Medical Center, where she later died.
On Sunday, Veilleux was remembered as a strong woman who put her animals before herself.
“We were told she made arrangements for her animals before calling for help for herself,” Debra McKay, owner of KD Stables and 4R Animal Shelter in Lee. Though McKay said she never had a chance to meet Veilleux, those who did know her spoke highly of her.
McKay has taken in Veilleux’s 30-year-old Standardbred, Burt. She said shelter volunteers were helping care for the horse, who seems to sense his loss.
“He’s been pacing a lot. It’s like he is looking for something,” she said.
McKay said Sunday that it was her understanding that one of the state troopers who investigated Friday’s accident was considering adopting Veilleux’s puppy and that arrangements were being made for the care of her older dog.
Veilleux lived completely off the grid, foregoing such conveniences as running water and electricity, McKay said. She drew water from a small pond next to her house, located at the end of a long driveway, she said.
“Her place was immaculate,” she said.
Information about funeral arrangements was not yet available late Sunday.