The pedestrian who died Thursday night in a crash in Old Town was a University of Maine junior studying electrical engineering technology.
Dylan Cooper, 24, was hit Thursday evening by a truck with a plow attached to the front as it turned left onto Stillwater Avenue from Bennoch Road. He was declared dead at the scene, according to the Old Town Police Department. The driver was 54-year-old Eric Gifford of Bradley.
“The UMaine community is devastated by the loss of a remarkable young man,” Robert Dana, UMaine’s dean of students, wrote in an email to students. “There was no end to his desire to help others. He touched people with his passion, purpose and good nature.”
Cooper graduated from Hampden Academy and attended Eastern Maine Community College before transferring to UMaine. Faculty and fellow students described Cooper as dedicated with a passion for engineering physics, according to Dana. He tutored first-year electrical engineering technology students in physics.
Cooper also had an interest in flying airplanes, according to the UMaine email.
He belonged to the UMaine chapter of Alpha Delta, the fraternity that is the current caretaker of Bananas T. Bear, UMaine’s mascot. According to the email from Dana, Cooper wrote on his Facebook page that he enjoyed serving as Bananas’ “keeper” on the football team’s December trip to Ogden, Utah, for the Football Championship Subdivision quarterfinal, where UMaine defeated Weber State.
“We extend the deepest sympathy of the UMaine community to his family and friends, and all who were touched by his generous spirit,” Dana wrote.