FARMINGTON – A 23-year-old Farmington man who died early Thursday morning after taking a borrowed motorcycle for a ride was remembered for his kindness toward people, his sense of humor and his smile.
Justin A. Maurer died on Middle Street after he lost control of a motorcycle he had borrowed to take for a short spin 15 minutes earlier. Friends discovered Maurer’s body six hours later.
Those friends and police had looked for Maurer after he failed to return with the bike, Farmington Police Chief Richard Caton III said.
Maurer had finished work at The Boiler Room Restaurant in Wilton Wednesday, then went to The Granary on Front Street in Farmington with friends. He borrowed the motorcycle about midnight, the chief said.
Police received a call about 1:30 a.m. Thursday after Maurer failed to return and his friends couldn’t locate him, Caton said.
One of the groups of searchers found the motorcycle and Maurer about 6 a.m. on a lawn of a Middle Street home near where it intersects with Fairview Avenue, Caton said.
Maurer had been returning to the downtown area, Caton said, when he apparently lost control. The motorcycle hit some trees. It was found a little bit off the road, with Maurer’s body some distance from the bike, he said.
The accident remains under investigation, Caton said, but preliminary findings indicate that speed and Maurer’s inability to negotiate a slight curve were factors.
Caton said the crash happened about 12:15 a.m.
Maurer, whose family lives in the Leeds area, was wearing a helmet, Caton said.
A large group of Maurer’s friends were gathered outside a home near Water Street, where Maurer had lived, about noon Thursday but declined to talk about their friend. They couldn’t right now, a couple said.
Maurer’s boss and owner of the Wilton restaurant, Rick Mealey, described Maurer as being one of the “nicest” and “coolest” people ever.
“I’ve never seen him in a bad mood,” Mealey said.
His death is a waste, Mealey said.
Maurer had waited tables and tended bar at the restaurant for two years, Mealey said.
He had graduated last May from the University of Maine at Farmington in Maine.
Maurer had a great sense of humor, Mealey said. He always could take a good ribbing, a good joke, he added.
Maurer and his girlfriend were planning to move out West and start their life together, he said.
“He was always smiling,” Mealey said. “He would just go out of his way to help you. It’s a shame. It shouldn’t have happened.”
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