MADAWASKA, Maine — An elderly Grand Isle man died early Saturday, apparently from injuries suffered when his trike-scooter collided with a car on Main Street despite his wearing a helmet, police said.
Clifford Cote, 78, of Grand Isle was pronounced dead at Eastern Maine Medical Center in Bangor at 12:09 a.m. on Saturday, police said.
Police said the accident occurred when Cote was driving east on Main Street on his 2011 scooter when his vehicle struck the side of a 2002 Chrysler Concord at about 2:45 p.m.
The car’s driver, Lucille Paradis, 91, of Frenchville, was leaving a parking lot at Acadia Health Care Center when she crossed Main Street and went into the driveway of a house across the street, police said.
Paradis apparently did not see Cote on his scooter as she crossed the roadway and the scooter hit the driver’s side of the car, police said.
Cote suffered serious head injuries in the crash. An ambulance took him to Edmundston Regional Hospital in New Brunswick before a LifeFlight helicopter flew him to the Bangor hospital, police said.
It was unclear whether any charges would be forthcoming in relation to the accident.
Town police Officer Danielle Levesque, who is handling the investigation, was assisted by off-duty Officer Paul Chasse, Sgt. Ross Dubois, Border Patrol Agent Dave Bennet, Customs Officer Dave Beaulieu and Maine Forestry Service Warden Richard Martin, police said.
That’s real funny making fun of this guys death show some class.
This, coming from the guy who said that the poor dog who was tortured was probably some kids having fun, or an ‘accident’? Perhaps you should look at your own comments before pointing out insensitive comments of others.
Thank-you for pointing that out.
It probably was and the fact you are holding the life of a dog in the same regard as a human life is a great example of how out of touch people have gotten.
Obviously I read the article if I know that he hit the side of her car.
And you need to relax. Accidents happen.
name calling is not called for… but I do believe she should not be behind a steering wheel….
Town police Officer Danielle Levesque, who is handling the investigation, was assisted by off-duty Officer Paul Chasse, Sgt. Ross Dubois, Border Patrol Agent Dave Bennet, Customs Officer Dave Beaulieu and Maine Forestry Service Warden Richard Martin.
Think they had enough officers covering this accident? Not like it was a ten car pile up or something. Just saying.
you add up to age of every cop here and you still don’t have the years she been driving…. after 60 madatory yearly driving test…. and none of this slow driving crap… but real world skid pad recovery, and reaction time testing……. get these killers off the road
I hope you remember this statement when you, in what is called an “accident”, manage to kill or severely cripple someone when you are behind the wheel …
You have obviously, never had to conduct a traffic homicide investigation.
“It was unclear whether any charges would be forthcoming in relation to the accident.”
It’s pretty clear that Ms. Paradis violated Mr. Cote’s right of way. Why wouldn’t she be charged, especially since she killed the poor man?
It is quite an accomplishment to be 91, but no one should be driving at that age.
Excuse me jdtex, that man was my grandfather, i would really appreciate if you kept your stupid comments to yourself…It was a horrible senseless death. I don’t think you would have that same comment if it was one you family members instead of my grandfather.
Matthew, I am sincerely sorry for your loss. I lost my only living grandfather when I was 13. I understand.
Know this, there are insensitive, uncaring, uncouth, low lifes in this world who take great pleasure in other’s misfortune.
Also know that there are those of us who sympathize with you and offer our heartfelt condolences to you and your family.
One day, God will take care of fools like jdtex.
In the interim, remember your granddad for the man that he was.
I understand Matthew. So sorry for your loss. As needless and tragic as it was, I know you will eventually be able to go on with less pain and raw emotions…..but for now, I extend my sincere condolences to you and your family.
thank you for standing up to that jerk matt! no one dare say crap like that about our Pepere. it amazes me how RUDE and just plain CRUEL peole are and they should ALL be ashaed of themelves!
Making a statement that she should rot in prison is uncalled for. Unfortunately, this elderly lady is just one of so many similar drivers that we encounter every day up this way. It is encumbent on the family members of very elderly drivers to insure that they voluntarily or forcibly give up their driving priviledges.
It will happen to each of us as we age.
I just hope that Mrs. Paradis is able to comprehend the consequences of her actions and that Mr. Cote died as a result of same.
Having her “rot in prison” will accomplish nothing.
My condolences to the the families of both Mr Cote and Mrs Paradis. Difficult decision regarding whether charges should be filed on this 91 yr old woman. I have no doubt that this incident will surely impact her as well. She did not go out there and say… I’m going out there to kill someone today. It could happen to any one of us, young or old. They are called accidents. :(
It could happen to any one of us, young or old.
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You have a point…but at the same time, you may want to look up statistics on the very young and the very old as it pertains to vehicle accidents.
The very young are looking at their laps while they are texting… and driving. When was the last time you saw grandma do that? Would you be in the younger sector, the older sector, or the invincible?
the older sector….I’m not exactly going around with my shirt on backwards and a shoe of each kind on my feet…but, I did take an AARP safe driving class to enhance my driving, catch up on new policies and learn techniques to remember and utilize that addresses a slowing of our senses and reaction times, because of “natural” aging. I learned more than I ever thought I would and have put a few of the applications I learned to good use. Did you know we should not hold the steering wheel at 3 o’clock and 9 o’clock anymore………..and do you know why? OH…and don’t look it up.
No. Why?
Try to remember 8 and 4 o’clock. If you hold your hands around 10 and 2 and depending on your size….even 9 and 3…..if the air bag deploys at the old hands on steering wheel standards, the pressure that accompanies a deployed airbag with your hands too high on a steering wheel can and will cause you to hit yourself in your face with your hands. You can easily break bones in your face or cause eye injuries……but you will still be alive because of the air bag. An impact on the driver side door is another matter. It’s hard to survive that….air bag or not.
I learned about the proper way to pass a trailer truck and the patience the truck driver has to have for drivers who know nothing about the length of the truck driver’s blind spot…how much brake application it takes, along with the distance involved for making adjustments for a vehicle that gets back in the driving lane too soon after passing a trailer truck…..especially if they are both traveling down hill.
I learned about the safe distance to have with the car in front of me when stopped in a line of traffic…..in case someone rear ends me. Those are just 3 of many things I learned to be a “better’ and safer driver. One unexpected surprise was a bit of a discount on my insurance because I completed the course.
I would like to find an instructor who would take me on an icy area (meant for driving instructions) and let me practice steering the wheels in the proper direction on an icy surface and how to avoid over-compensating in a skid. When I am traveling at high speeds, I have learned the skill of not jerking the steering wheel if an animal runs out in front of me.
Sorry bandbox…..this is a perfect example of TMI.
Not at all TMI. It’s valuable information and a good reminder to me that I should sign up for one of those courses. They’re available around here (midcoast) and advertised in the local papers often, so I’m going to do it.
About the position of hands: I’ve never held then at 9 and 3 o’clock because it never felt right. I usually have the left hand high and the right low, but now I’m going to think about that based on the air bag info you provided. I’ve never heard of that before, and I suppose it’s because I haven’t taken the defensive driving course, which I’ll remedy soon.
GOOD ! Glad I helped. It’s surprising how much information we become “acquainted’ with again. But, especially new skills that comes from the advancements and new technologies incorporated into the newer automobiles.
I learned about adjusting my driver’s sideview mirror that lessens the amount of time another car is in my blind spot. It’s an easy adjustment. I created a necessity all my own also. When driving, I always make sure my cell phone is on my person, instead of in my purse or on the passenger seat. If I am involved in an accident where I might end up not being able to move and not able to retrieve my cell phone because it got thrown, who knows where, I’ll have it on my person and hopefully able to use it.
There’s a whole lot more to learn also and well worth it. It’s a good decision and may save your life and the lives of others. BTW….old habits are hard to undo. I still don’t hold the steering wheel where I should in order to protect my face in case of airbag deployment.
Back in my day it was the 10 and 2 position …. never heard of the 3 and 9.
My thoughts go out to this family. I have to say though,hmmmmmmmmmmmm isnt it funny he died wearing a helmet. I believe in them but this only goes to prove my point.Helmets do not always save lives. Rest in peace and keep riding in heaven.
No, it’s not funny at all, it’s a tragedy that didn’t have to happen if drivers paid more attention and diligently made it a habit to take a second look before they pull out onto the road or make a left turn. Nobody has said that helmets will protect you in every accident so “your point” is already known and accepted by everybody, but they do offer a degree of protection to the most critical part of your anatomy.
Oh yes i do hear that helmets will save your life all most every day of my life.Like seat belts. I have seen about 3 or 4 people die because they could not get them unhooked and burned to death.But as usual we never hear about that at all.
Now I’ve heard everything….a conspiracy in the press to keep from telling us about all those hordes of unfortunate people who are burned to death because their seatbelts won’t come unbuckled, you can’t be serious! If you really think that’s a big risk, then wear your seatbelt but secure a hook-knife within easy reach of your drivers seat that you could use to cut the seatbelt.
Neither seat belts or helmets offer perfect safety or a guarantee of protection from every conceivable accident and I’ve never heard anyone suggest otherwise, but they both greatly increase our odds of survival in almost every case.
You are in the 99% bracket. Dont want to talk about the real world that happens.
You seem to think the “real world” is exclusively made up of the miniscule percentage of accidents where you’d be better off without a seatbelt or helmet. While it’s impossible for any safety device to guarantee safety in all accidents, seat belts and helmets save lives in the overwhelming majority of types of auto and motorcycle accidents so it’s only common sense to use them.
If you need to not wear a helmet or a seatbelt so you can think of yourself as part of some elite 1% bracket, then go for it, but just recognize that you’re hurting your own chances of surviving the vast majority of dangerous situations you may encounter on our roads and highways. Unfortunately for you and your fellow 1%, Darwin’s rules apply.
When some people present us with the (fluke) exceptions……people wearing helmets and seatbelts and lose their lives anyway…..I assume the only conclusion we rational people can come to is……they are advocating throwing away those helmets and stop wearing those stupid seatbelts. (Not the sharpest knives in the drawer)
His helmet may have been too old or perhaps a crack in it. I haven’t a clue if he was wearing an actual motorcyle helmet or a bicycle helmet. What we do know is…..he was hit by a car. helmet or no helmet and the driver of the car was at fault.
My uncle had just bought him a brand new Certified Motorcycle helmet…
Thanks for that information Matthew. Your Grandfather was taking all the necessary precautions to be on the highway with his scooter. My sincere condolences to you and your family.
Senseless tragedy and the comments regard semantics and political posturing. The BDN news would be wise to shut the comment section on stories like this. I heart goes out to the gentlemen that had to defend his grandfather. Peace.
The same charges should be brought against the negligent driver (Lucille Paradis) that would be brought against a 17 or 18 year old driver (for example) whose negligence caused the same vehicular homicide. Sadly, a certain percentage of family members of an elderly member will not intervene in taking away their octogenarian’s driver license.
Family members will claim they just don’t want to deprive Grandma of what little “freedom” she has left. They’ll justify their claim with, “she only drives around town.” What they are waiting for is for the “accident waiting to happen”…to happen. It could very well have been a woman with a baby carriage, a child waiting for the school bus or any other number of scenarios. Sometimes the 90 year olds just take out themselves.
When family members know that Grandma isn’t as sharp as she used to be out on the highway, they feign the “leave her alone” theory…”she’s only driving around town, not really harming anybody.” The real truth of the matter, which makes the family members as guilty of negligent homicide as Grandma is……the family members don’t want to come up with Plan B….where they all agree among themselves who will take turns taking Grandma to her appointed rounds. Grocery shopping, dental, doctor and eye appointments, necessary shopping apart from groceries. Taking her on social and recreational outings.
Granted, younger family members are quite busy and it would be an added inconvenience in their already busy lives…. but, it can and will always be the difference between life and death in most cases.
And from actual experience, family members (or the one and only family member) will have to tolerate the wrath of Grandma for a while…..or maybe a good long while. And when the family is willing to sacrifice and give up their time to attend to Grandma’s needs, who has been forced to give up her license, you’ll never ever know what tragedy you have probably prevented.
91 ?? Driving a car ?? That was already an accident waiting to happen.
You “GirlInBg” getting a computer with internet access…that was an accident waiting to happen. Why do dumb ppl attack the elder? They are people too. Why can’t she be driving if she is capable. The shame of u. You don’t know her . She could be very alert and aware. Don’t write people off. You’ll be old too one day … wait I take that back. Stupid ppl never make it that far in life because of the process of evolution. Stupid things die off first so their dumb genes don’t get passed on.