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01/19/2008

Medeiros will face a felony charge of leaving the scene of a personal-injury accident, police say. A warrant for his arrest was issued Friday afternoon.

Steven McKenney, 55, of New Portland died when one of the timbers rammed into the front of his compact car, police said. Another beam struck an oncoming car operated by Katherine "Kitty" Jones of Camden, who was taking her daughter to Carrabassett Valley Academy. Police said the plank went through the front of the car and stopped just short of the windshield. Jones and her daughter were not hurt, but the car was demolished.

Police said Medeiros, driving a heavy-duty pickup and trailer, did not stop and did not come forward voluntarily. Franklin County Sheriff's Lt. Niles Yeaton on Friday said Cpl. Steve Charles and Detective Tom White were in Massachusetts working with the Fall River Police Department, which has jurisdiction in Assonet. The Franklin County officers contacted Medeiros, but White said the man refused to meet with them and said they had to go through his attorney.

"We have also located what we believe is the Ford F-550 half-ton pickup truck and trailer that was used to haul the wood," White said.

Medeiros, who owns a construction company, was not available for comment. His wife, who answered the telephone, said they are trying to find an attorney licensed to practice in Maine.

"We are so sorry for what happened," she said, crying.

Late Friday evening, police say Medeiros may have eluded authorities attempting to serve the warrant. In addition, the pickup truck and trailer that investigators believe he used to haul the wood from Kingfield to his construction business in Fall River is missing, Franklin County Sheriff's Cpl. Steve Charles and Detective Tom White said from Fall River.

White said the lumber that Medeiros was hauling came from a load of trusses custom-cut for a new home in Kingfield. The owner had bought structural material for the job from Medeiros and, while he was at the job site, Medeiros offered to buy the excess lumber. The wood was loaded on the trailer at the building site, the officer said.

Near a curve in Route 27 near the Basin Road intersection in New Vineyard, about three miles north of the Farmington town line, the load shifted and about a dozen heavy, frozen, freshly cut beams, some longer than 12 feet, slid out the back and into the path of cars driven by Jones and McKenney.

McKenney, who lived alone with six cats in a mobile home in New Portland, was killed. He worked as a stock clerk at Tranten's Store in Kingfield for the past several years. Prior to that, he worked at Sugarloaf/USA.

"Steve was a jokester and was someone who always saw the good in people. He was a real sensitive person who would do anything for anyone," said co-worker Jackie Kennedy at Tranten's.

"And he loved animals. He had six cats that were his life. He was constantly taking pictures of them and would tell us stories about their antics," she said. "He was a good guy."

Franklin County Assistant District Attorney James Andrews said there are two parts of criminal responsibility in a case like this. One is reckless or criminal negligence in securing the load, and the other is not remaining or returning to the scene of the accident to provide information to aid the investigation.

Betty Jespersen -- 778-6991

bjespersen@centralmaine.com

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