LEWISTON — A pickup truck struck and killed a Lewiston Middle School student in a crosswalk on Main Street early Thursday as he was walking to school.

Jayden Cho-Sargent, 13, an eighth-grader, was hit at 7:10 a.m. in the Main Street crossing at Frye Street. He died at the scene.

The street was closed for most of the morning as police investigated.

Police identified the driver as Laurie Young, 54, of South Paris. Young was driving a Ford F-150 pickup truck. Police said Young was cooperating with the investigation.

Cho-Sargent lived one street from the intersection, Lt. Mark Cornelio said at a Thursday morning press conference at the police station.

The boy was dragged under the truck for some distance before Young stopped to check, Cornelio said.

“She knew she had hit someone, but then she stopped and didn’t know where
he . . . had gone until she had walked around to the front of her truck and realized,” he said.

Weather conditions — a dark, damp drizzle — likely were a factor in limiting visibility, he said.

“She just did not see him,” Cornelio said.

The boy was wearing dark clothing and Young was on her way to work.

“Best as we can determine, she was not on her cellphone at the time,” Cornelio said.

Police drew Young’s blood to check for any alcohol content, which is standard protocol in any fatal accident.

“She’s very shaken up by this whole thing,” Cornelio said. Young was not injured.

A check of Young’s driving record for the past decade shows no violations.

Once the accident reconstruction and police investigation are complete, those reports will be forwarded to the Androscoggin County District Attorney’s Office for any possible criminal charges, Cornelio said. Investigators will seek to determine the speed of her truck at the time of the collision, he said. The posted speed in that area is 25 mph, he said.

The boy had been walking alone. Police identified one witness who had been driving some distance behind Young’s truck and pulled over, but apparently hadn’t been able to see what happened, Cornelio said.

The crosswalk is not in a school zone and there was no crossing guard.

“People have a misconception that when you’re in a crosswalk, that you’re safe. You still have to look out for traffic,” Cornelio said. Although the pedestrian has the right of way, “you still have to make sure that the traffic is going to stop for you.”

cwilliams@sunjournal.com

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