Buxton police on Monday said a 67-year-old woman was raking leaves by the side of her home on Main Street when she was struck by a car and killed Saturday evening.
Police Chief Troy Cline identified the victim as Lynda Shupe of Buxton. Shupe died in her yard before emergency workers arrived, police said.
“It appears that she was raking her lawn by the side of the roadway when the vehicle struck her,” Cline said in a statement Monday.
Cline said the driver of the 2009 Chevy Malibu that hit Shupe was a 17-year-old boy from Windham. Cline said no further information will be released regarding the boy’s identity or whether charges might be filed against the teenager.
Shupe’s family, which was contacted through the funeral director handling arrangements, declined to be interviewed.
Chad Poitras, owner of the Chad E. Poitras Cremation & Funeral Service in Buxton, said Monday night that Shupe’s family is asking for complete privacy during this difficult time and does not want to be interviewed.
According to a preliminary notice posted Monday on the funeral home’s website, Shupe went by the name of “Missy” and is 67-years-old. The notice said that a private gathering will be held for family and friends at a later date. She will be buried at the South Buxton Cemetery.
Cline said the investigation into the fatal accident is ongoing. Buxton police are investigating with assistance from the Saco Police Department crash reconstruction team.
The crash took place around 5:47 p.m. on Main Street, near its intersection with Salmon Falls Road, Buxton police said.
Though fairly uncommon, there have been other incidents around the country where people raking leaves in their yards have been hit by motorists. In November, two men raking leaves in Chesterfield County, Virginia, were struck by the driver of a pickup truck. One of the men suffered a life-threatening injury, a local CBS-TV station reported.
WLKY-TV in Louisville, Kentucky, reported that a 74-year-old man was hit and killed by driver in December 2016 while raking leaves at his home in Clarksville, Indiana. The driver was arrested and charged with leaving the scene of an accident.
In 2013, the Vindicator newspaper reported that a 61-year-old Youngstown, Ohio, man was hit and killed by a van while raking leaves in his yard. Police said the driver lost control of the van.
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