BREWER, Maine — The man found on the floor of his Brewer apartment after two bus drivers grew concerned about his nine-day absence as a passenger died Friday night, hours after he was discovered by police.
Nicholas Zaccaro, 84, was a regular on Bangor’s Community Connector route. If he didn’t take the bus every day, it was every other day, usually to do some shopping at Wal-Mart, according to drivers Bobby Vicnaire and Tiffany Curtis.
The state medical examiner’s office confirmed Monday that Zaccaro’s death had been reported to the office, but there was no post-mortem examination because it was clear that his death was the result of natural causes, according to spokesman Mark Belserene.
Vicnaire and Curtis said they got to know Zaccaro well from their routes.
Curtis said Zaccaro usually bought a 6-inch sub and soda for his drivers to eat on their lunch break. He loved talking to his drivers and fellow passengers, and saw the bus as his social life.
Last Friday, Curtis called Brewer police to ask them to check on Zaccaro at his North Main Street apartment. She and Vicnaire had grown concerned about their friend after not seeing him on the bus for nine days, and their own efforts to find him earlier in the week by checking nursing homes, hospitals, and knocking on the door to his apartment had failed.
Police and EMTs found Zaccaro in his apartment and took him to Eastern Maine Medical Center in Bangor. There, Curtis and Vicnaire waited for hours to hear news about their friend. A doctor informed them Friday night that Zaccaro had died, Vicnaire said.
Curtis and Vicnaire urged neighbors to watch out for one another, especially the elderly and those who don’t have family in the area.
Follow Nick McCrea on Twitter at @nmccrea213.