The driver of a vehicle that hit and killed a woman in Turner on Saturday night called police to say he thought he had hit a deer, according to a news release from the Androscoggin County Sheriff’s Department.

The sheriff’s department received a call on Sunday morning leading them to a 27-year-old Harrison man who said he thought he had struck a deer and didn’t realize he’d hit a person. He called police after seeing media reports about the accident.

The man, who was not identified in the release, is cooperating with officials, the release said. The vehicle, a Ford pickup truck, was taken to the Maine State Police Crime Lab in Augusta for examination. The man has not been charged.

Authorities say 21-year-old Brittany Stanhope was reaching for something in the backseat of her disabled car when she was struck by the truck on Buckfield Road in Turner at 8:50 p.m. Saturday. She was pronounced dead at the scene.

Stanhope and a passenger were in the breakdown lane of Buckfield Road after their car had mechanical difficulties.

Police had been seeking a dark-colored Ford pickup with possible damage to its front passenger side.

The investigation is ongoing, and findings will be turned over to the District Attorney’s Office for review, as is typical in fatal crash investigations.


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