On June 15, our 3-year-old golden retriever was hit and killed in front of our house on U.S. Route 201 in Vassalboro.

We don’t know who hit her because the driver just kept going, leaving parts of the vehicle all over the road. One of those parts, the lower right fender section, which I still have, contains the vehicle identification number (VIN). The impact must have been fast and fierce.

I understand what a fast runner Daisy was and that she probably appeared “out of nowhere.” She rarely left our dooryard, and we missed her immediately. We found her within seconds, already dead. Now I am grieving for this dog, but this process is made difficult by two issues.

First, the driver did not have the common decency to stop, even long enough to see if the animal was dead or alive, or to seek out her owners. The driver’s failure to stop to pick up the parts of the car tells me that he/she wanted out of there ASAP. However, the lack of caring is what I find appalling.

Second is my ongoing concern about the speeding and aggressive driving along Route 201. It is common for vehicles to drive at high speed up and down this road, despite 45 mph speed limit signs. It doesn’t increase to 55 mph until one is a ways north of here and the signs are clear.

My attempts to get local and state law enforcement to focus attention on this dangerous problem have not met with action. One of these days it will be a person who’s hit.

Speeding, texting and other distractions, impairment and fatigue are all worries I wish I didn’t have. I can only hope people will pay attention to how they are driving.

Elaine Crawford

Vassalboro

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