Potato house worker dies after being struck by truck

By Kathy McCarty
Staff Writer
    BRIDGEWATER — An elderly woman succumbed to injuries she sustained when she was struck by a truck at a local potato house.
    “On Oct. 3 at approximately 2 p.m., State Police and Crown Ambulance were called to Snow Road Farms at 62 Snow Rd. in Bridgewater for a report of a female being run over by a potato truck. The investigation showed 80-year-old Dorothy Rusby, of Bridgewater, was working in the potato house when a 1994 Freightliner potato truck driven by 47-year-old Stephen Holmes, of New Limerick, struck Mrs. Rusby,” said Sgt. Josh Haines, Maine State Police.
    Haines said Holmes was “unaware Mrs. Rusby was nearby.”
    “Holmes didn’t see her as he pulled out of the potato house after unloading. Holmes drove away unaware he’d struck the woman. Mrs. Rusby was found unresponsive by her co-workers,” said Haines.
    Crown Ambulance responded to the scene. Emergency personnel determined Mrs. Rusby died as the result of injuries sustained in the accident.
    Haines said the investigation is ongoing and the Medical Examiner’s Office and OSHA are assisting with the investigation.
    Trooper Rob Flynn is the primary investigator. Flynn was assisted at the scene by Haines, Sgt. John Cote and Troopers Nick Casavant and Dave Coflesky.