OXFORD — The investigation is continuing into an accident on Route 26 in August that resulted in the death earlier this week of an 8-year-old Bethel boy, Oxford police said Thursday.
Jennifer Thurston, 28, of Bethel, and her son Matthew, a student at the Crescent Park Elementary School in Bethel, were injured Aug. 10 when her car crashed into a utility pole, went airborne, split a tree and burst into flames near the intersection with Route 121.
Matthew died Monday night from his injuries. He spent the past two months at the Barbara Bush Children’s Hospital in Portland.
Acting Oxford Police Chief Michael Ward said Thursday that police are combining various reports to submit to the District Attorney’s Office for review and determination of possible charges.
“We need to connect a little more,” Ward said.
Chief Jon Tibbetts said at the time of the accident that Thurston, who was treated at a local hospital and released, was driving south in a 1996 Jeep Cherokee at about 11:30 a.m. when the car went off the road. He said it appeared she fell asleep while driving.
A witness at the scene said Thurston told him that’s what happened.
In May 2005, when she lived in Greenwood, Thurston was injured when she fell asleep while driving on Route 26 in Woodstock, police said. A 20-year-old Woodstock woman riding with her was critically injured. Thurston’s sons Matthew, then 1, and Tyler, 3, were in the back seat. She and the boys were treated for minor injuries at a local hospital, according to police.
ldixon@sunjournal.com
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