Police arrested a Litchfield man Sunday and charged him with causing a collision Nov. 9 that killed a Litchfield couple.
Shawn W. Metayer
Shawn W. Metayer, 60, who was hospitalized at Maine Medical Center in Portland following the crash, was arrested at his house after being released from the hospital.
Metayer was behind the wheel of a Lincoln sport utility vehicle that police say crossed the centerline on Hallowell Road just before 8 p.m. on Nov. 9 in Litchfield and struck a pickup truck driven by Derek Trudeau, 48. Trudeau and his wife, Stephanie, 40, were killed upon impact, according to Katharine England, a spokeswoman for the Maine State Police.
Metayer was charged with two counts of Class A manslaughter and one count of Class B operating under the influence, all felonies.
The Class A manslaughter charges are punishable by up to 30 years in prison.
Metayer is being held without bail, according to a Kennebec County jail worker.
England said Metayer was arrested on warrants and is expected in court Monday morning.
Police said speed and alcohol were believed to have been factors in the accident.
The Trudeaus were on their way to pick up their 9-year-old daughter, who was at a friend’s house, when their vehicle was struck, according to police.
Derek and Stephanie Trudeau Contributed photo
People who knew the couple remembered them last week as kind people and devoted parents.
The Trudeau’s obituary described Derek Trudeau, who worked at Bath Iron Works, as “a devoted husband and father who liked to fish and tend to his garden,” and Stephanie Trudeau as “a young mother who would do anything for her kids and family.”
Chelsea Crochere, who identified herself as a relative of Stephanie Trudeau, has started a A GoFundMe page to help with her funeral expenses. The initial goal of $6,000 was reached quickly, after which the goal was increased to $8,000. By Sunday night, 306 donors had contributed $14,842. The campaign page said all unused money will go to the couple’s daughter.
Police said Metayer’s driving history includes a serious accident in 2005, when his motorcycle caught a soft spot of dirt and he was thrown over its handlebars before the bike landed on top of him.
A year ago, Metayer, then living in Lisbon Falls, was involved in another accident in Lewiston. A crash report from the Maine Bureau of Motor Vehicles reports Metayer was riding a Harley-Davidson motorcycle that hit the back of an automobile that had stopped for a traffic light on the Longley Bridge, near the intersection of Main and Lincoln streets.
Officers attributed that crash to Metayer’s following too closely.
Comments are not available on this story.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
