EAST MACHIAS, Maine — Classes at Washington Academy in East Machias won’t be held Wednesday, Feb. 8, so students can attend the funeral of a classmate killed Sunday in a fatal accident on Route 191 in Washington County.
Maine State Police say the accident involved alcohol and excessive speed.
Francis Finn, 16, of Whiting was a passenger in a pickup truck driven by Aaron Foss, 20, of East Machias when Foss lost control of the vehicle at about 11:40 a.m., leaving the roadway and crashing into a tree and a utility pole. Finn was killed instantly, police say. Foss suffered minor injuries and was treated and released at Down East Community Hospital in Machias.
Washington County District Attorney Carletta Bassano said Tuesday afternoon that she’s awaiting the results of a Maine State Police investigation into the fatality before making any decisions on charging Foss. That process, she said, could take months.
Judson McBrine, head of school at Washington Academy, said Tuesday morning that many students there took advantage Monday of one-on-one grief counseling sessions staged in the school’s cafeteria. Banners were hung there to allow students to leave messages of condolence for the Finn family. The teenager’s mother, Marie Finn, is a special education teacher at Washington Academy.
Extracurricular activities, including scheduled sporting events, were cancelled after Finn’s death and will resume on Thursday, McBrine said.
Funeral services at 11 a.m. Wednesday, at Holy Name Catholic Church in Machias, will be followed by a reception at Washington Academy.
Finn is survived by his mother, two brothers and a sister.
Such a tragic loss.
“For all sad words of tongue and pen, The saddest are these, ‘It might have been’.”
John Greenleaf Whittier
Take the vehicle from the accident and put it on a pedestal in front of the school along with a plaque that describes how this young person died. Take pictures of the funeral, the people who lost a loved one, and all the mayhem caused by this decision. Make a memorial out of it. Then it will be a constant reminder of the perils of driving under the influence.
Brilliant idea!! NOT!! One family lost a son, grandson, brother, cousin, nephew, etc and the other family had a members life ruined yet you want to put the vehicle on display at the school that many of them attend or drive by daily not to mention that a very nice woman that happens to be the victims mother works at and you want them to have to live with that reminder every day? How heartless to the surviving community can you be? Regardless of how this happened or how it could have been prevented let the friends and family grieve and deal with their loss in peace!
Don’t you think that losing a life of such a young person is enough of a reminder? And for one thing it is only SUSPECTED that Aaron was driving under the influence. Not everything printed in the news paper is correct. Your idea would cause so much depression that it would ruin the lives of so many students and family members, I’m sure it would increase the high school drop out rate, and the unemplyment rate. So take your idea and shove it. You obviously have no brain and no heart. Think about things before you post them….
I know my response sounded heartless but I did not mean it that way at all. Kids don’t have a developed sense of maturity and consequently they make bad decisions. Every year our communities mourn the loss of yet more of our young folks who die this way. A few drinks, a car, and life is over for them. Every year in almost every community! Really, the wonder is that any of us manage to survive that time in our lives. I don’t know the people involved but I would guess they’d like to see something positive come out of this tragedy. My bet is that if such a memorial saved just one teenagers life each year these folks would be proud to have this memorial in place.
Alright look ive known aaron foss since my feshman year he’s not that bad of a kid as the matter of fact he’s an extremely nice man everyone makes mistakes and i realize this was a big one but who hasnt made mistakes? accidents happen so f*cking quick you dont even realize it and anyone whos ever been in one will agree with me im not trying to take sides here because his death was a very sad thing and everyone loved franky dearly including me. Not only that but it was franks choice to hangout with aaron and it is not his mothers fault every parent has to have trust in their chidren and you cant keep them locked up forever thats cruel. So instead of running our mouths about people why dont we ty to be forgiving to him can you imagine how sh*t like this is making him feel? its pretty ignorant if you ask me. and i agree 100% downeast maine is a very small place you are friends with everyone. and i guuaruntee every single person on this page has done stupid sh*t when they were teenagers and dont ty to deny it. Also Uncle Al dont run your mouth about sh*t you dont have a f*cking clue about you dont know either of these kids like i did/do neither of them were bad kids and you shouldnt be trying to make either one of them out to be, neither his mother shes a very nice woman and a teacher to hundreds of kids. -Russ