ROCKLAND — A neighbor who responded to the intersection of Suffolk and Ocean streets, Oct. 27, didn’t witness the pickup truck striking the pedestrian; she came in response to the distraught screams of the driver. She didn’t know the woman who was now laying on the road. But she knelt down beside her and stayed with her, saying reassuring words regarding the fact that people were there to help her, that the ambulance would be there soon, that the police were on their way. Her words may have fallen on deaf ears, as the woman appeared unresponsive, and, in the eyes of the talking woman, likely already gone. 

The unresponsive woman jogger had just stepped onto the crosswalk that spans Suffolk Street along Ocean Street – a three way intersection with Water Street, at approximately 8:30 a.m., at the same time as a pickup truck, driven by Ronald Staples, 53, of Rockland, pulled into the same intersection.

Emergency personnel were on scene within two minutes of the call to 911, according to Rockland Police Chief Tim Carroll. 

Police are still investigating the cause of the incident, which left this woman, Lorraine Hall, 70, dead at the scene. According to Carroll, there was no sign of impairment, but Staples did submit to a blood test as common practice in a serious or fatal crash. 

According to neighbors, Hall and her husband had been renting in the neighborhood while they built a house in Rockport.

Emergency responders were quick to the scene, including Rockland EMS, Rockland police, a detective from the Knox County Sheriff’s Office, and a reconstructionist from the Maine State Police. For two hours, they stayed. Some police spoke with the driver as well as the one person who witnessed the incident, others set up blockade fences around the intersection. The reconstructionist used long metal strips to take measurements, and all looked for evidence that could possibly provide answers.

According to Carroll, it is common to keep a body on scene until the Medical Examiner’s Office is notified and allowed to be cleared by them. At the same time, the truck was impounded at the request of the District Attorney’s Office, pending further investigation.

Reach Sarah Thompson at news@penbaypilot.com