Staff Report

LEWISTON — The Maine State Police say a trooper was injured Wednesday night when a car hit his cruiser while parked on the Maine Turnpike in Gray.

DEMOLISHED - According to Maine State Police, Deanna Marshall of Norway was driving the car that hit a Maine State Police cruiser parked on the Maine Turnpike in Gray.

DEMOLISHED – According to Maine State Police, Deanna Marshall of Norway was driving the car that hit a Maine State Police cruiser parked on the Maine Turnpike in Gray.

State Police Cpl. Kyle Pelletier’s cruiser was parked at a construction site when he was assisting road crews who had closed down the passing lane for repairs, according to a statement from Maine Public Safety spokesman Stephen McCausland.

A north-bound vehicle sideswiped Pelletier’s cruiser parked with emergency lights activated about 9 p.m. The vehicle was driven by Deanna Marshall, 57, of Norway, according to McCausland.

Pelletier was treated for a back injury and released from Central Maine Medical Center in Lewiston. Marshall was not injured but was taken to Maine Medical Center so her condition could be assessed, according to McCausland.

Marshall has not been charged, according to McCausland.

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A child younger than 2 years old related to Marshall was in the back seat but not injured, according to McCausland.

Marshall’s car was demolished, and several thousand dollars in damage was sustained to the cruiser, according to McCausland.

Last month, the parents of Cassidy Patten, an 18-year-old Harrison teen who died of a heroin overdose in September, filed suit against Marshall in Oxford County Superior Court, claiming wrongful death. Patten had been at a party at an apartment on Walker Avenue in Norway and, when Patten became ill, Marshall drove her to Central Maine Medical Center and left her outside, where she later died.

Marshall was not charged with a crime, but Patten’s parents said that her decision not to stop at Stephens Memorial Hospital in Norway, a four-minute drive from her apartment where Cassidy was partying, and instead proceed to Lewiston, 40 minutes distant, cost Patten her life.

Marshall herself told investigators “that girl would be alive” had they acted quicker to get help, according to the complaint.

The Pattens are seeking $500,000 in damages.

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In May, a Paris court ruled that it was more likely than not Patten’s parents would recover damages against Marshall after she failed to respond to the complaint or appear in court. A final ruling is expected later this summer.

According to state records, Marshall has no recent driving convictions.

In 2008, she was fined $100  in South Paris District after pleading guilty to a misdemeanor theft charge. She has no other criminal history.

Patten’s death led to an investigation into heroin trafficking in Oxford County and in June, police arrested 18-year-old Jacolby Morrison of Norway and three other individuals who they say were found with 800 doses of heroin inside a Paris apartment.

Morrison, who was at the apartment the night of Cassidy’s death, is Marshall’s grandson, according to the civil suit.

In addition to Morrison, Laurie Jones, 52, and Jared Jones, 22, both of Norway, were charged with felony possession of heroin and Jonathan Keefe, 27, of Wakefield, Mass., was charged with felony trafficking in heroin.

If convicted, Morrison and Keefe each face up to 30 years in prison and $50,000 in fines. Laurie Jones and Jared Jones face up to five years in prison, and $5,000 each in files.

ccrosby@sunjournal.com

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