LINCOLN, Maine — Robert Doyle figured he had given enough room to the man pushing the snowblower when he drove by him Friday morning, and he was almost correct, according to police.
The front of Doyle’s Chrysler Town and Country van cleared Gary LaChance, but the passenger-side mirror struck LaChance in the back as it went by him at 661 Mohawk Road at 11 a.m., Lincoln police Officer Mark Fucile said.
Witnesses said the 64-year-old LaChance kept his feet despite the blow, but he complained of back pain and was taken to Penobscot Valley Hospital in Lincoln, according to Fucile.
Doyle “said he had figured he had given [LaChance] enough room when he went by,” Fucile said.
LaChance was on Doyle’s right, clearing snow from around his mailbox, when the accident occurred, Fucile said.
Doyle, 78, was on his way to his home on Mohawk Road in Enfield when the accident occurred, Fucile said.
No charges will result.
“It was a mere accident,” Fucile said.
It was not a mere accident, it was a failure of the driver to put adequate distance between his truck and a pedestrian. Not intentional, but no “accident”.
More of a mishap, really.
wonder if the driver was under 30 if he would of been charged? Glad everyone is all right!!
Per Webster Dictionary-Accident (noun):
a : an unforeseen and unplanned event or circumstance
b : lack of intention or necessity
I think this incident is the definition of accident…and also to throw in the piece about the driver being charged criminally for those people commenting below…study on criminal law. In order to be guilty of a criminal act, the act will have been committed “purposely,” “knowingly,” “recklessly,” or “negligently.” In this case the closest fit would be negligence, however, in the drivers state of mind he saw the man in the road and thought he’d given enough room for him to clear. He was obviously wrong, but that was misjudgment I still don’t believe that would fall into the category of criminally negligent. The driver would clearly be at fault in a civil court of law for monetary damages (hospital bills, pain and suffering, etc) as his act meets the definition of negligence as applied to civil law. Negligence is civil law is caused by carelessness, not intentional harm. “The core idea of negligence is that people should exercise reasonable care when they act by taking account of the potential harm that they might foreseeably cause to other people.”–Jay M. Feinman of the Rutgers University School of Law. There is a difference in civil versus criminal law. This is a case that is deemed for a civil suit, not a criminal suit. The officer in this case did nothing wrong by not criminally charging him. This is not a criminal case.
If it wasn’t intentional, it was accidental. Accidents happen for a variety of reasons, many of which could have been avoided if people had used better judgement. Hindsight is always 20/20. Fotunately for most of us who aren’t perfect, the law recognizes this. On the flip side, maybe the gentleman with the snowblower could have been more attentive, as well.
strange headline..what was the mirror passing?
And how do you hit someone with the rear-view mirror?? LOL
Because it’s a side mirror mounted on the passenger door.
Kidney stone…
He looked tense so he gave him a mirror rub. Quite neighborly unless the mirror is attached to a moving car!
“Doyle “said he had figured he had given [LaChance] enough room when he went by,”… You gotta be kidding me! The mirror can’t be longer than 5 inches… LaChance is a VERY LUCKY guy… That close could have pasted him to the front of the vehicle… Was Doyle on the phone? Texting? Asleep at the Wheel? Time to recycle through driver’s training…
Doyle is 78.
That also makes for the ‘no charges’.
‘Nuff said (’till next time).
Or is he a mucky muck at the Lincoln Hospital????
Aged at the wheel?……..
If Doyle was 20, they would have checked his cell phone to see if he was texting at the time. At 78, it’s just another black mark for elderly drivers.
Mirror – mere cute Nick my chuckle for the day! I TOLD YOU!! Hang a banner at all borders of Lincoln… “Caution we don’t stop for pedestrians” Doesn’t matter if it’s little kids on a bus, or men with a snowblower… run ’em over and get off scott free!! Surprised they didn’t make the poor man pay for a new mirror for the car!
1. Keep it civil and stay on topic2. No vulgarity, racial slurs, name-calling or personal attacks.3. People who harass others or joke about tragedies will be blocked.
She can’t help herself!
Seemed on topic and fairly civil. Didn’t see any vulgarity or racial slurs…nor name calling or personal attacks…still looking for the harassment…and since this wasn’t what one would call a tragedy I don’t think joking was out of line.
You’re watching too much Sesame Street.
Hey a man was hit by a vehicle, this is no place to bash the town of Lincoln, the citizens of Lincoln or bring up an unrelated event where a child almost lost their life in Lincoln. I feel the remarks were are joking about a tragedy personal attacking and off topic. As far as watching to much Sesame Street, you have just shown my point. You couldn’t respond without taking a stab at someone personally by trying to put them down.
She only spoke the truth… I am certainly not making light of what happened to Sophia or this gentleman but why no charges??? Faulty driving is faulty driving, no matter what happened.
i respect your opinion. After many post in the past weeks, they have seldom spoke the truth. I am not disputing faulty driving or how it is the responsibility of the driver. I don’t dispute the fact that charges in both cases should of possible happened. What i do dispute is that bringing up accidents in the past, which a little girl was injured was brought back up in the statement in a joking manner. A BDN article is clearly not as detailed as an accident report or police report that explains how it unfolded. So to say they get off “scott free” is merely the opinion of someone without the legal knowledge to decide whether charges are warranted.
Isn’t the rear view mirror inside the car, glued to the windshield? And the side mirrors are on the side of the car?
Never saw a mirror facing forward. Not normally anyway.
just wondering..was you awake when you posted that comment??i dont see that outdoorwoman said anything about a mirror being facing forward
A rear view mirror shows you what’s to the rear. Of course it doesn’t face forward. A side view mirror, which is what the man was hit with, is on the side of the car. It shows you what is to the side and behind you. Mirrors never face forward. Please don’t drive.
Accident or not. Once again Lincoln police not holding people accountable for their actions.
A mere accident? The driver violated the law by not providing the required 3 feet of separation with a pedestrian. If the driver lacks the ability to properly judge distances, it requires referral to DMV for consideration of medical review.
are you kidding me people? this guy was in his lane and he bumped into a pedestrian snow blowing his mailbox out. did it even say if the snow removing pedestrian was walking into the road or away ? How many of you have seen people ignore traffic while snow blowing.. It WAS an accident per the LAW. would most of you be happy if he avoided the pedestrian and swerved into the oncoming lane? do any of us know the facts? the distance ? the direction? get off the keyboard and go shovel something else..
Tufnoogies, take a look at title 29-A, Section 2055: ” . . . An operator of a motor vehicle who is passing a pedestrian on a public way or the way’s shoulder shall exercise due care by leaving a distance between the motor vehicle and the pedestrian of not less than 3 feet while the motor vehicle is passing the pedestrian. A motor vehicle operator may pass a pedestrian in a no-passing zone only when it is safe to do so. “
good facts! My only question would be if while passing did the gentlemen snow blowing move closer to the vehicle. Its hard to say how it unfolded without the police report. No doubt i agree with that law as you posted
title 29-a doesnt say wether the pedestrian backed into traffic while pulling his machine out for another pass now does it? or direction of his travel . you give them three feet , or more and if they close it who’s at fault, same thing applies to a bicylist, you give them a space and they fall off into your path.. who’s at fault? I would say no one as we have a society that looks for fault too often. things happen. sue happy society. the guy stayed upright. how fast you think that van was going ? does anyone know ? pffft!
you are also correct! I just spoke with a retired police officer and asked him about the situation. He stated you are responsible for control of your vehicle at all times. Unless there is a criminal act or intent then it would be deemed an accident. Charges have more to do with criminal act than what can be deemed an accident.
Agree!! A BDN article is not satisfactory for me to make a claim. A full police or accident report is a far better source of information of who is at fault. Without it, haters will blame and believers will wait for the facts.
What if the pedestrian was a child where the point of impact could have been the child’s head. Would that remain just a mere accident? When it comes to pedestrians, far too many drivers don’t provide safe clearance and don’t slow down. I was hit by a passing car’s mirror 2 years ago while walking on the shoulder of the road. The vehicle did not stop.
I kept track of accident for the month of Feb. here is a brake down by age group 18 to 25- 8 26 to 35 – 8 36 to 45 -6 45 to 59 – 9 60 plus 7 accidents this all involved cars
should of kept track of male or female as well :-P It would be an interesting statistic!
You can do that this time
you can do that
very poor driving skills.. maybe not done on purpose but still it happened.. people should try to put as many feet in between their car and people walking or standing on the side of the road as possible not inches
To make a conscious decision to try to squeak by with so little room to spare was just plain reckless on the part of the driver of that car. Talk about poor judgment!
luckily… the outside mirrors on todays vehicles push back toward the drivers door on impact or if pushed by hand…. saftey and also good for car washes.
Accident,my a_ _ ! Get this guy off the road. I know it’s a freedom thing with seniors, however, there is a limit!
This was an accident? It is against the law to come within three feet of a pedestrian. my four thousand pound car could not squeak by the one hundred and fifty pound man.