The Cumberland County district attorney has announced a new policy that will start treating pedestrian or bike crashes resulting in injury as potential criminal or civil violations.
The announcement comes in the wake of what District Attorney Jackie Sartoris described as the deadliest year on record for Cumberland County pedestrians in 2025.
Sartoris said under the new policy, police will secure crash scenes, preserve evidence and send completed reports about the accident to the district attorney’s office for review. Prosecutors will decide whether criminal charges or civil violations should be issued.
“Crashes that kill or seriously injure people on foot or on bikes are not just ‘accidents,'” Sartoris said in a statement. “They are violent events with real victims. Police officers are already doing the work of investigating these crashes; now this information will be shared with prosecutors to determine if a charge is appropriate.”
The district attorney’s office is expected to issue guidance and training to police departments in the coming days.
This story appears through a media partnership with Maine Public.