AUGUSTA, Maine — Police say a bicyclist has died in a hit-and-run crash in Augusta.
Police Lt. Christopher Massey says a passerby found a man lying on Ward Road underneath a damaged bicycle Friday afternoon. No other vehicles were in the area.
The victim has been identified as 49-year-old Gary L. Lacasse of Augusta.
The Kennebec Journal reports that a state police reconstruction team was called to the scene. Additional details were not immediately available.
awful
Share the Road.
-peace
…no cars on the single track.
finally someone who knows my name means!
:)
Ha, i’ve always known……….
Killed by a coward. Sad.
This is extremely disturbing! I keep hearing about these fatal hit and runs in and around Bangor. What is going on?
@euroexpat:disqus there have not been a lot of fatal hit and runs in or around Bangor. Only one took place a few weeks ago.
Is it just me or is Augusta not really in or around Bangor. Kinda like, 75 miles? I mean, that’s less than an hour for most Mainers on 95 so I can kinda see it. haha
How about that girl last year near Orono Jordyn Bakley? Hit and Run fatality! One in 10yrs is too many! This makes 3 in less than 3yrs that is a lot.
No, that is not a lot.
Driving in Maine is deteriorating badly. More than a few head-on collisons resulting in death recently. Narrowly avoided similar fate yesterday. The likely reason? Numbskulls playing with cellphones, taking their eyes of the road. Time for a serious crackdown and, preferably, a ban on handling any loose communications devices while driving.
Followed a woman on Broadway this morning doing her makeup, does it throughout the red light, light turns green, she moves and is still putting on makeup, went to Ellsworth at a red light, along the right lane a car pulls up, driver texting, she turns on red, doesn’t look, narrowly misses the curb on her turn and keeps on going and more then likely texting still.
Sad news, especially for those of us who have made the choice to live without a car. Pedestrians have to have their head on a swivel at all times and be 100% alert, and that goes double for cyclists. Drivers really are getting more reckless, technological distractions are an issue certainly, lack of enforcement also, but the real problem is that people feel like gods in their cars because of advertising and because the engineering of cars outperforms the engineering of the road network environment.
Solutions? None that are politically viable because of the way cities have developed, making auto ownership feel like a necessity even for people who clearly can not afford a vehicle. The reason cities developed that way? Cronyism and greed plus lack of accountability, it’s no different than the financial debacles of recent history, the Public Infrastructure Debacle
I completely agree with your first paragraph.
Not so sure about your second though. It is certainly possible to live in any of Maine’s cities and not need a vehicle. The major cities (as major as they are in Maine), have public transportation. Save for the dangers you mention in your first, it is quite easy to walk or bicycle from one end of Bangor, Brewer, Orono to the other within a relatively short period of time.
I think most of us living in the cities don’t want the inconvenience of not having our own vehicle. Why would we take 30 minutes to walk to work when we can drive in 10 or less? Lots of people in Boston and New York live without a personal vehicle because it’s easier to not have one. We don’t view things that way here. I think it’s less about infrastructure and more about personal choice.
The reason we would take 30 minutes to walk instead of 10 to drive is that it benefits everyone. More people should get out of their cars and move. If you can walk to work in just 30 minutes there is no reason to be driving. And if more people would just walk to work(or wherever else they’re going) they wouldn’t have to pay money or set aside time to exercise. And then there is the whole issue of it benefiting the environment, but I don’t think I need to rattle on any longer…
Could not agree more.
Agreed, but don’t forget the health benefits of walking/biking. If more people walked/biked instead of driving, they would be a lot healthier, which would reduce burden on our healthcare system.
I gotta agree that infrastructure is a problem. You say the major cities but your talking about 2, maybe 3 cities that have infrastructure of public transportation. Augusta, the capital of our state, has little if any. Yes the KVCap bus runs around but not at any convienience to workers in the area who might otherwise be able to use it to get back and forth to their jobs. I’ve lived in Boston and been fortunate enough to frequent the MBTA buses, subways, and trains. It was great to be able to toss 50 cents in a turnstile and travel from as close as a block from home to a destination miles away in minutes. Maine has little public transportation aside from those 2 or 3 cities and its a shame. We could certainly do much better.
True, public transportation needs work. Especially for the “suburbs” like Farmingdale where most people probably work in Augusta. Boston is a great city and it’s easy to get around, either on foot or by public transit. But I think the majority of people who live within the city limits of a Maine city drive their personal cars to work even though they could use alternate transportation. For those who do have a commute, I wonder how many car pool?
I just want to say, it is not only drivers becoming more reckless. Pedestrians walk on the right (the incorrect) side of the road all the time. I’ve seen a handful of bicyclists at night with absolutely no light, and on the wrong side of the road to boot. I rarely see a bicyclist stop for a red light, sometimes they hardly slow down for a stop sign. It’s the law. And it’s bad in Orono, was bad where I went to school too. I’d like to see more bicycle warnings. Surely bicyclists could agree to that, seeing as so many don’t know the rules regarding riding them.
Not saying Mr. Lacasse was at fault in any way, just that I don’t like to see stories about bicycle fatalities and only hope it brings more attention to being safe out there. I hope they catch the fink who left this man to die. What a coward.
Hit and run,Totally heartless. People like this have no conscience.
This person, if he or she has a conscience will start to act wierd, they will seem startled, always be looking around. They know what they did was wrong, disgusting and shameful. Keep an eye on people to see if they change. If its someone just passing through, its less likely they will ever find who did it. That person has no heart, no self respect and no respect for human life. Think of this person’s family and what they will go through. If you come clean now, the courts will go much easier on you. Chances are that the woman who hit the man on Maine Street will do less than five years. Do the right thing please.
There is NO excuse for a hit & run.
I will say that the deteriorating roads are a contributing factor in many accidents. Roads are so bad that they can cause cars/trucks as well as bikes to alter their course unexpectedly. This is still NOT an excuse for a hit & run, I’m just saying that it could be contributing factor.
Walking…Good idea but your just as dead being hit while walking or riding a bike…Article last week said police giving warnings and not writing tickets…Speed is up and tickets down…Lets legalize texting while driving and smoking MaryJ…That way we can elimante those troublsome walkers,M/C riders,bike riders and jogers…