GLENBURN, Maine — A 66-year-old nurse who died Wednesday after being struck by a car on Pushaw Road had just finished her last shift at work.
Barbara Crossman was crossing Pushaw Road at the entrance to Skidgel Road to pick up mail around 4:30 p.m. Wednesday when she was struck by a maroon 2005 Suzuki Forenza driven by Stephen Niles, 57, of Bradford.
Niles told state police he did not see Crossman in the road and thought he had struck a deer or another animal.
Crossman had passed in her keys and badge to supervisors at Dorothea Dix Psychiatric Center on Wednesday evening before heading home. She worked there helping patients who had “severe and persistent mental issues” for a few years, according to Sharon Sprague, superintendent of the Bangor psychiatric hospital.
Crossman had parked her vehicle at the end of Skidgel Road and crossed Pushaw Road to reach the row of mailboxes for residents in that development. She was wearing dark clothing at the time of the crash, police said, and rain and darkness reduced visibility.
Early reports that the woman was in her mid-30s were incorrect.
On Thursday, Crossman’s daughter, Theresa Crossman of Hampden, said her mother was retiring after many years of working as a nurse, most recently at Dorothea Dix Psychiatric Center.
“Barbara worked very hard and was very kind to our patients,” Sprague said. “We’re reeling from our shock and sadness and want to send our thoughts and condolences to Barbara’s loved ones.”
Sprague said it takes a “special kind of person” to work day in and day out with patients suffering from severe mental illness. Crossman used her sense of humor to her and her patients’ benefit, Sprague added.
Crossman recently had moved into a Skidgel Road home with a roommate.
She loved to travel, working for a time as a nurse on a Native American reservation in Arizona. She also enjoyed attending NASCAR races every year with family members, according to her daugher.
Crossman had three children, with three grandchildren and another on the way, Theresa Crossman said.
Pushaw Road was closed to traffic until about 8 p.m. Wednesday as police and rescue personnel investigated.
When the Maine State Police investigation is completed, information will be forwarded to the Penobscot County district attorney’s office for review.
Members of the Penobscot County sheriff’s office, the Maine Warden Service and the Glenburn Fire Department assisted at the scene.