Detectives from the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office have arrested a Windsor woman they allege was driving one of two vehicles that struck and killed a pedestrian on N. Clary Rd. in Jefferson in 2008.
LCSO detectives arrested 23-year-old Roxann Berry around 1:15 p.m. June 1 and charged her with the felony offense of leaving the scene of an accident involving death or personal injury. The arrest is the result of an ongoing investigation into a traffic crash in Jefferson Sept. 20, 2008 that resulted in the death of Loren St. Cyr, 20, of Newcastle.
According to Sheriff’s Lt. Rand Maker, both physical and forensic evidence found at the scene indicates St. Cyr was struck by an unknown vehicle and was left lying helpless in the road.
After being struck by the hit and run vehicle, St. Cyr was struck a second time by a 1996 Mercury Villager operated by a 38-year-old Jefferson man. The second operator told officials he attempted to avoid St. Cyr, but was unable to do so. He immediately stopped his vehicle and summoned the authorities, who responded and found St. Cyr had been fatally injured.
The second operator was not charged.
According to Maker, police focused on Berry within the last two weeks, after police received information from a concerned citizen.
When confronted by detectives, Berry eventually admitted to being the driver of the first vehicle that struck the victim.
“The reality is this is case of us (police) following up when we receive information,” Maker said.
“Her name was never on our radar screen, it never came up. The termination of this is this is probably the third or fourth time information came up and when it came up we investigated it. The previous times the tips didn’t pan out.”
Maker praised deputies who made the follow up investigation.
“Our guys didn’t just ignore it. She ultimately will have to explain why she didn’t stay and why she didn’t stop. Once we identified her, she was cooperative with us. There was no attempt to evade us or elude us, so for that I have to give her credit,” he said.
Detectives have seized a 1996 Subaru Legacy as a result of their investigation. Police believe Berry was operating the Subaru at the time St. Cyr was struck. The vehicle is currently being examined at the Maine State Police Crime Lab in Augusta.
Maker said an arrest could not have been made in this case without the public’s help. The arrest is an example of community policing he said, adding the community helps the police serve the community.
“We get paid to do our job and we can’t do that without the public helping us,” Maker said. “Our guys get training and experience and all that, but ultimately, this is community policing at work.
“When the community works with us, we can work for them. We are happy that people had confidence in us (and believed) that we would do what we get paid to do,” he said.
Leaving the scene of an accident involving death or personal injury is a class C crime in the State of Maine carrying a possible jail sentence of up to five years and up to $5000 fine.
Berry was transported to Two Bridges Regional Jail in Wiscasset. It is expected that she will next appear in the Lincoln County Superior Court Aug. 26.
The facts supporting this case will be again reviewed by the District Attorney’s Office in Wiscasset prior to its presentation to the Lincoln County Grand Jury later this summer. It is possible that additional charges may be entered at that time.
Berry’s arrest is the third person charged in the St. Cyr investigation. In Jan. 2009, LCSO Deputies arrested Thomas C. Nolet, 20, of Gloucester, Mass. on a charge of furnishing a place for minors to consume alcohol the night St. Cyr was killed.
On March 2, LCSO Deputy Henry Grenier issued a summons to Adam Olson, 29, of Jefferson for furnishing a place for minors to consume alcohol on the same evening.
St. Cyr was a 2007 graduate of Lincoln Academy where he was a standout member of the wrestling team.
