HOPE — A rock that crashed through a windshield last month, killing a Camden man, is believed to have fallen off the top of the trunk of a car driven by a young man collecting rocks for a museum.
No criminal charges have been filed in the case. Knox County Sheriff Donna Dennison said Wednesday the investigation continues, and the case has yet to be forwarded to the district attorney’s office for possible prosecution.
The 1999 silver Saab sedan was registered to Kathy Felch of Union, but she had loaned it to her son, Myles Felch, according to an affidavit filed in Knox County Unified Court in order to obtain a search warrant to seize the vehicle.
James Nash, 73, of Camden, was killed in the June 9 incident. His wife, Marilyn Nash, was treated for minor injuries at Pen Bay Medical Center in Rockport and released the evening of the crash.
Nash was driving east on Route 17 shortly before 3 p.m. that day when the rock came through the windshield and struck him in the head, killing him instantly. The 6- to 8-inch diameter rock ended up in the rear passenger seat of Nash’s 2013 Honda Civic.
According to the affidavit filed by Detective Dwight Burtis, a few days after the fatal incident a witness contacted the sheriff’s department to report he had been helping two young men collect rocks on property near the intersection of Routes 17 and 90 in Rockport earlier in the afternoon of June 9.
The witness said he remembers Myles Felch placing one rock on the trunk of the car while the others were placed on a trailer. The rocks were being collected by Felch and the other man to be taken to the Maine Mineral and Gem Museum in Bethel. The witness said Felch was driving the car.
After receiving this information, the sheriff’s office spoke with Myles Felch at his mother’s home. He was shown a photograph of the rock and said he did not recognize it and that it was not the type of rock he would want for the museum. He also denied placing a rock on the trunk of the car.
The sheriff’s office interviewed the witness from Rockport again, who identified the rock as the one Felch put on the back of the trunk, according to the affidavit. Police went back to Felch, who again denied placing the rock on the trunk. When police asked to inspect the vehicle, he said it was in Bethel and he would be not be back in Knox County for months.
Burtis obtained a search warrant, issued by Judge Patricia Worth on June 18. The police again contacted Felch, who said he loaned the vehicle to his brother who has gone to Baxter State Park. The vehicle was found by rangers and seized on June 22. The Saab was put on a flatbed trailer and taken to the Maine State Police Crime Laboratory in Augusta.
The inspection showed new scratch marks on the rear spoiler of the car, the hatchback window and the rear left side of the car, according to the affidavit.
Officials with the sheriff’s office earlier said they had reviewed surveillance footage from businesses along Route 17, but the affidavit did not make reference to that assisting in finding the vehicle. Sheriff Dennison said she could not comment further on the case at this time.
A telephone message was left for Felch at the museum. A 2012 article in the Lewiston Sun Journal reported Felch had joined the staff of the museum. His attorney, Walter McKee of Augusta, said his client’s side would be told later.
A telephone message also was left with museum Executive Director Barbra Barrett. She did not immediately return the call.
The museum is a private nonprofit organization, according to its Facebook page.
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