Vehicles driven by Gaylene Rich, 69, of Livermore and Trisha Payeur, 43, of Livermore Falls are wrecked after a head-on collision July 20, 2022, on state Route 4 in Jay. On Monday, Payeur pleaded not guilty to an eight-count indictment related to the crash. Donna M. Perry/Sun Journal file photo
FARMINGTON — A Livermore Falls woman pleaded not guilty Monday to charges connected to a fatal crash that claimed the life of a Livermore woman on state Route 4 on July 20, 2022, in North Jay.
A Subaru Outback driven by Gaylene Rich, 69, of Livermore was heading south on state Route 4 and a Ford Edge driven by Trisha Payeur, 43, was heading north.
The vehicles collided head-on, Jay police Cpl. Joseph Sage said in July 2022. Payeur’s vehicle allegedly crossed into the southbound lane when the crash occurred.
Rich died on the way to a hospital and Payeur was critically injured. She was taken by ambulance to Central Maine Medical Center in Lewiston.
Payeur pleaded not guilty to charges in an eight-count indictment handed down in November 2023. The charges are manslaughter, three counts of reckless conduct with a dangerous weapon, three counts of driving to endanger and one count of unlawful possession of scheduled drugs.
Assistant District Attorney Patricia Mador said she is looking to schedule a settlement conference for the case.
Mador was in the courtroom; defense attorney Jesse James Ian Archer and Payeur appeared on Zoom.
A conviction on a manslaughter charge carries a maximum 30 years in prison and a maximum $50,000 fine. Convictions on the other charges ranged six months in jail to a maximum five years in prison and up to a $5,000 fine.
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