HOPE, Maine — Police believe that a 6-8-inch diameter rock that went through a windshield, killing the driver in an accident on June 9, fell off the trunk of another car.
The suspect car was impounded last week after police reviewed video recorded by surveillance cameras at businesses along Route 17 in the moments before the accident happened.
Chief Deputy Tim Carroll of the Knox County Sheriff’s Office said Wednesday that police believe the rock was on top of the trunk of the car that was seized.
The name of the owner and operator of the vehicle that was seized on June 17 is not being released. The vehicle was taken to the Maine State Police crime laboratory and inspected, but it has since been returned to the owner, Knox County Sheriff Donna Dennison said Wednesday.
Neither Dennison nor Carroll would release any other information, stating that the incident remained under investigation.
Once the investigation is completed, Dennison said the district attorney would have to decide whether to file any criminal charges.
District Attorney Geoffrey Rushlau could not be reached for comment Wednesday afternoon.
James Nash, 73, of Camden was killed shortly before 3 p.m. June 9 when the rock came through the windshield of his 2013 Honda Civic as he was driving east on Route 17 near the Hope and Union town line.
Nash’s wife, Marilynn, was a passenger in the vehicle and was taken to Pen Bay Medical Center in Rockport, where she was treated for minor injuries and shock. She reported seeing an object coming toward the windshield but could not offer a good description of the vehicle that is believed to have been traveling in the opposite direction. Police initially were looking for a commercial vehicle.