Residents of the Newcastle and Damariscotta area are invited to gather Monday evening for a candlelight vigil to honor the memory of a Lincoln Academy freshman who was killed in a car crash on the final day of school.
Lincoln Academy announced on its website and in a Facebook post Sunday that the vigil for Isabelle Manahan, 15, will be held at the Great Salt Bay Community School in Damariscotta beginning at 8:45 p.m.
Manahan was the daughter of Bryan Manahan, the head of the school’s English Department. She was killed Friday afternoon when the 2006 Subaru station wagon she was driving left Parsons Point Road in Edgecomb and hit several trees.
Manahan died at the scene while three other female passengers, ages 14, 15 and 15, were transported to Maine Medical Center in Portland and Lincoln Health Miles Campus in Damariscotta with what police described as non-life threatening injuries.
“We will not be releasing the names of any of the subjects involved as they are all minors,” Lt. Brendan Kane of the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office said in an email. “I hope you understand our desire to respect the privacy of the minors. We may have further information by Tuesday.”
According to a statement from the sheriff’s office, speed and driver inexperience appear to have been factors in the crash. Alcohol is not believed to have been a factor. Police said the car was driven by an unlicensed teenage driver, adding that they are continuing to investigate “unlicensed operation” of the motor vehicle and possession of the vehicle.
The Lincoln Academy community was grieving the loss of Isabelle this weekend. The school remained open from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday for anyone who needed counseling or emotional support.
And on the Lincoln Academy News Facebook page, the administrator wrote: “The brave warriors on the Lincoln Academy girls tennis team played through their pain to win a state championship Saturday. We know you did it for Izzy and we are awed by your courage.”
“She was full of joy. She had an easy smile and easy laugh people just loved her for. She was a sunny, sunny girl,” Jenny Mayher, communications director at Lincoln Academy, said Saturday.
Mayher said the funeral service for Isabelle will be held Thursday at the Damariscotta River Association’s farm property at 110 Belvedere Road in Damariscotta. More details about the starting time and parking will be released this week.
Dennis Hoey can be contacted at 791-6365 or at:
dhoey@pressherald.com
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