WARREN, Maine — An Old Town man is free on bail after being charged in connection with the death of a pedestrian he struck and killed with his truck on Route 1 last year.
Kurt Craig Olesch, 29, was indicted by a grand jury last month on a charge of causing a death while driving with a suspended license and a count of operating after suspension. The indictment was sealed until Olesch was arrested on Oct. 31. He since has been released on $1,000 cash bail.
Olesch was the driver of a 1992 Mazda truck that struck and killed 30-year-old Robert Hamilton of Warren as he was walking in the middle of Route 1 shortly before 10 p.m. March 30, 2013. Hamilton died instantly.
The charge filed against Olesch does not allege that he was criminally negligent, which is why he was not charged with the more serious crime of manslaughter, according to Assistant District Attorney Jeffrey Baroody.
Instead Olesch is accused of causing a death while driving with a suspended license, the prosecutor said.
The delay in bringing a charge against Olesch was due, in part, to the time it took to reconstruct the crash and get the final police reports in the case, Baroody said. Also, while police were able to interview Olesch the night of the accident, deputies had difficulty locating him afterward, the prosecutor said.
Baroody said the prosecution decided to seek an indictment and then obtain a warrant for his arrest.
The main charge issued against Olesch on Oct. 8 was a Class B felony with a maximum prison sentence of 10 years.
The Knox County Sheriff’s Office reported at the time that a witness to the crash said Olesch was driving slightly under the 55 mph speed limit on that stretch of Route 1. In addition, police pointed out it was dark and there were no streetlights on that stretch near the intersection with Finntown Road.
Olesch was charged the night of the crash with operating after suspension for failure to pay fines.