No Charges in Fatal Potato House Accident

No charges will be filed in a farm accident in central Aroostook County last fall that claimed the life of an 80-year-old woman.

According to Sgt. Josh Haines of the Maine State Police, the death of Dorothy Rusby of Bridgewater was a tragic accident, and no criminal charges will be filed against the driver of the potato truck that struck her. On October 3, Rusby had been working at Snow Road Farms in Bridgewater when her co-workers found her unresponsive outside the potato house.

Police said 47 year-old Stephen Holmes of New Limerick had been unloading his potato truck a short time before. Investigators believe that Rusby may have slipped and fell into the path of the truck or Holmes may not have seen her as he was pulling out of the potato house after unloading.  State police say the driver was unaware of what had happened and drove off.

The state medical examiner’s office and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration lodged a thorough investigation of the Bridgewater farm accident.