Maine Injury Lawyer Blog

A South Berwick man was indicted Wednesday by the Penobscot County grand jury in the Jan. 30 hit-and-run death of a University of Maine student in Orono.

Garrett Cheney, 22, was indicted on charges of manslaughter, aggravated criminal operating under the influence of intoxicants, leaving the scene of an accident that resulted in serious bodily injury, and criminal operating under the influence of intoxicants.

He is scheduled to be arraigned at the Penobscot Judicial Center on May 20.

Cheney allegedly struck and killed Jordyn Bakley, 20, of Camden about 3 a.m. Jan. 30 in front of 15 Middle St. in Orono near her apartment. He was driving on the wrong side of the street when he struck Bakley, who was killed instantly, according to court documents.

A three-vehicle accident at Minot Avenue and High Street just before noon Wednesday resulted in injuries to some of the drivers involved. Police said Eric Zitoli, 34, of Andover was driving a GMC truck and hauling a trailer when it collided with a van driven by Ashleigh Barker, 28, of Auburn. The collision caused Zitoli's trailer to whip around and strike a Toyota driven by Yvonne Wilcox, 57, of Auburn. Wilcox suffered injuries, police said.

The cause of this accident is under investigation. As personal injury specialists, Peter Thompson & Associates has investigated hundreds of accidents. In almost all cases, the primary and secondary causes of collisions are disputed, resulting in the need for a comprehensive accident reconstruction. While police will often conduct an accident reconstruction, we find it frequently necessary to conduct more detailed investigations of accident scenes to determine who was at fault. Because important evidence that will be necessary to provide the most accurate investigation is often lost as time passes, it is critical that a comprehensive accident reconstruction occur as soon as possible and that all witnesses to the accident are interviewed to preserve their recollections.