March 28, 2024
BANGOR DAILY NEWS (BANGOR, MAINE

Bangor man struck by car dies next day> Witness: 5 mph accident was unavoidable

BANGOR — A 48-year-old Bangor man who said he felt fine after he was struck by a slow-moving car Thursday morning, died at a Bangor hospital early Friday morning.

Joseph Breard, who lived on Essex Street, died at 8:10 a.m. from a head injury, according to the state’s Medical Examiner’s Office.

Bangor police reports indicated that Breard hit his head on a snowbank and briefly lost consciousness after the 9:50 a.m. accident on a snow- and ice-encrusted Garland Street.

Dr. Vincent Michaud, a Bangor physician who witnessed the accident and went to assist the injured man, told police that Breard had regained consciousness and told Michaud that he felt fine.

According to police reports, Breard had been walking with traffic at the time of the accident and had moved in front of a car driven by Susan Staples, 41, of Bangor.

Staples told Officer Dennis Lally that she was traveling about 5 mph and kept steering the car away from Breard and toward a large garbage truck that was parked on the opposite side of the road in front of MacDonald’s Market. Breard kept walking toward the front of the car, Staples and Michaud said.

After the initial impact with the car, Breard’s body spun around and struck the car’s right mirror and he then fell down, Lally reported. Michaud was in a car behind Staples and said Breard hit his head on a snowbank.

Witnesses reported smelling alcohol on Breard, and Lally said Breard had admitted he was intoxicated. Michaud also said Staples was only going 5 mph and that the accident was unavoidable.


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