BUCKSPORT — Police say they still are investigating a car accident that killed 15-year-old Taylor Darveau on Thursday evening.

The Ellsworth Police Department and the Hancock County Sheriff’s Office are working with the Bucksport Police Department to determine the cause of the accident using electronic mapping techniques, photographs of the scene and interviews with witnesses.

Bucksport police expect to release information about their findings by the middle of this week, according to Chief Sean Geagan.

Local officials said they know that information spreads quickly via social media and they want to be careful about what they tell the public.

“We do understand that anything we say or release is completely out there immediately,” said Bucksport Fire Department Chief Craig Bowden. “If it’s not worded 100 percent correctly, people can read into it wrong.”

Geagan put it bluntly.

“I’m certainly in no hurry to get it out to them and have it be wrong,” he said of releasing information to the public.

While the investigation continues, the town of Bucksport and neighboring communities are doing what they can to process the reverberating effects of the tragedy.

“We were really pleased with how the students handled themselves,” said RSU 25 Superintendent Jim Boothby. RSU 25 serves Bucksport, Orland, Prospect and Verona Island.

He added that schools in neighboring communities also have been supportive. He said RSU 24, which serves 12 communities, including Ellsworth, sent at least five counselors to Bucksport High School last week and staff at Orono High School were accomodating when rescheduling athletic contests. The Ellsworth High School wrestling team is sending beverages for a reception that will be held at Bucksport High School in Darveau’s honor, Boothby said.

At a football game on Saturday between Bucksport High School and Orono High School, the coaches dedicated the game ball to Darveau and presented it to her parents, Corey and Christina Darveau, who were at the game, Boothby said.

The cheering team, of which Darveau was a part, performed during halftime with a picture of their teammate on the field in front of them, though they did not cheer for the entire game.

Boothby said that when speaking with students about the crash, he and his staff are “focusing on what we know, which is that there was an accident. An accident is by definition unintended and unforeseen.”

He said that at least one faculty member has visited the family of the student who was driving the car when the crash occurred, who survived. He said that his staff is eager to support her and her family.

According to an obituary for Taylor Darveau published in the BDN, visitation hours will be held 5-7 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 8, at Mitchell-Tweedie Funeral Home in Bucksport. The funeral service will be held at 5 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 9, at the Franklin Street United Methodist Church in Bucksport. A “celebration of life” dinner will follow the service at Bucksport High School.

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