Relatives of a 56-year-old woman struck and killed last weekend on Route 302 in Casco made their first public statement Friday, denouncing the driver of the car and his assertion that he believed he hit a deer, not a person.
Lorna Nugent of Casco was walking home Sunday evening on a dark section of Route 302 when police say a car driven by Jeffrey E. Smith Jr., 28, of Sebago struck and killed her.
Smith’s parents said in interviews after their son’s first court appearance that he believed he had hit a deer.
But Nugent’s family denounced that assertion in a terse statement released by a law firm that is now representing the family.
“Our family is suffering the worst pain anyone can imagine,” the Nugent family said. “Mr. Smith, you say you thought you hit a deer. We don’t believe you. Your attempts to shift blame are shameful. Stop avoiding the truth.”
Smith’s parents, Machelle and Timothy Plummer, said that although their son has a criminal history and has struggled with alcohol and drug addiction, he was working to get his life back together, and that he is not a monster.
In documents released in court Wednesday, a witness said she was in the car at the time of the crash. Karen Kelly, 58, told police she was with Smith before the accident, and that he had been drinking and abusing prescription medication.
The two had been with a group of friends and told them they were driving to the store and would return. But Kelly told police that she believed Smith, who was driving, was looking for a place for the two to have sex.
At some point in the drive, Kelly told police she performed oral sex on Smith, but it was unclear whether the sex act occurred at the time of the crash.
The two went to three different places, including Smith’s brother’s cabin near the crash site, before heading back to join their friends.
That’s when Smith hit something in the road, jolting Kelly forward, the police documents say. The impact shattered the windshield of the Volkswagen Passat, which Smith had borrowed from his girlfriend.
“Oh (expletive), he’s dead,’ ” Smith said, according to the police report. Kelly, apparently confused, asked him, “What?”
Smith told her he had hit a deer. But then he began to panic.
“I’ve got to get rid of the car,” Smith said repeatedly, according to the statements.
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