A 41-year-old Westbrook man was hit and killed by a car driven by a co-worker early Friday, police said.
James I. Brooks died at the scene of the crash at 48 Spiller Drive, Westbrook police said Monday. They said Nestus Mukeshimana, 31, of Portland hit Brooks, who was on foot, around 1:35 a.m.
The crash occurred in front of Sigco Inc., a glass and architectural metal fabricator and distributor. Cindy Caplice, the company’s director of human resources, said Brooks had worked there for two weeks in production.
Mukeshimana has been an employee there for a longer time, she said, but she would not be more specific.
“We’re devastated,” Caplice said. “We’re just feeling for both families. We’re so emotional for our employees.”
Caplice would not say whether Brooks’ shift had ended or if he was on a break when the crash occurred.
Westbrook police Capt. Sean Lally said lighting on that stretch of Spiller Drive is poor, and Caplice concurred. He said he didn’t know if Brooks was wearing dark clothes.
Lally said he’s not sure if the speed limit is posted on the road, which provides access to Sigco and some other manufacturing sites. If there is no posted speed limit, the default limit is 25 mph. But speed is not believed to have been a factor in the accident, Lally said.
Blood was drawn from Mukeshimana to check his blood-alcohol level, as is standard in fatal crashes, Lally said. Initial indications are that Mukeshimana was not impaired.
Officials also expect to check Mukeshimana’s cellphone records in the next few days, either with the driver’s consent or through a search warrant, to determine if he might have been distracted while driving.
“We have not filed any charges. The investigation is ongoing and could take weeks,” Lally said in an email Monday evening.
According to his obituary, Brooks graduated from Gorham High School in 1995. He was described as quick with a joke and able to make friends quickly and easily.
Staff Writer Edward D. Murphy contributed to this report.
Gillian Graham can be contacted at 791-6315 or at:
ggraham@pressherald.com
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