Elderly Man Struck by Dump Truck Identified

STARKS, Maine (AP) — Police say the 84-year-old Anson man struck and killed by a dump truck as he walked along the side of a Starks road had apparently stopped to pick up bottles.

Dale Lancaster, chief deputy of the Somerset County Sheriff’s Department, says Walter Cowan stopped his vehicle on the side of Route 43 at about 10:40 a.m. Tuesday, leaving the vehicle partially in the road.

Police tell the Morning Sentinel they think the driver of the gravel-laden truck belonging to the town of Starks tried to go around Cowan’s vehicle, but suddenly had maneuver to avoid a collision with an oncoming truck, and struck Cowan.

The driver of the dump truck is a 71-year-old town employee. No charges have been filed.