CAPE ELIZABETH – An SUV that struck the former Cape Elizabeth public works director Herbert Dennison and pushed him into a trash compactor where he died at the town’s recycling center last month did not malfunction during the accident, according to Cape Elizabeth police Chief Neil Williams.
“The autopsy was done and no mechanical defects were found,” Williams said Monday of the vehicle autopsy that took place Dec. 4.
Dennison, 79, was walking his trash to the compactor building on Nov. 24 around 10:30 a.m. when a 2002 Ford Explorer, driven by 72-year-old Christine Sharp-Lopez of Cape Elizabeth, knocked him into the hopper as she was backing her vehicle. According to police, the compactor was not operating at the time, but the vehicle was backing up at a high rate of speed.
Williams said he expected a written report from a crash reconstructionist within the next week. The report will then be sent to the Cumberland County District Attorney’s Office for further review and to determine whether any charges will be filed against Sharp-Lopez.
The other possibility is that Sharp-Lopez stepped on the gas rather than the brake pedal as she was approaching the compactor building, Williams said.
Cape Elizabeth police Capt. Brent Sinclair said, as part of the investigation, the department was also waiting to learn the results of a blood test that was administered to Sharp-Lopez to determine whether she was under the influence of a substance during the accident.
“We’re hoping to get this thing wrapped up sooner than later,” said Sinclair.
Mark Dennison, son of Herbert Dennison, spoke at the Dec. 8 Town Council meeting on behalf of his family during a remembrance of his father.
“We’ve gone through a very tragic time in the last few weeks,” he said. “We’ve been dealt one hell of a blow, to put it (bluntly). The icing on the cake was my mother’s last sibling, of the seven in her family, passed away that night after my dad passed away at 10:30 that morning.”
Mark Dennison said that the town staff deserves recognition for how it has dealt with the tragedy, especially Chief Williams, who chose to participate in his father’s funeral procession rather than taking a vacation with his wife.
“I take my hat off to him,” said Mark Dennison.
He also expressed his appreciation for the Town Council, Fire-Rescue Chief Peter Gleeson and Public Works Director Bob Malley.
“If you ask Bob today, Bob would tell you that my dad taught him everything he knows and he’s proud of that,” said Mark Dennison.
An engineering firm has begun its safety assessment of the recycling center and transfer station in response to the fatal accident. The town hired Woodard & Curran of Portland to conduct a short-term review of the facility, which is located on Dennison Drive off Spurwink Avenue. The road was named after Dennison, who retired as public works director in 1981.
According to Public Works Director Bob Malley, Woodard & Curran representatives visited the transfer station on Dec. 3 to begin the safety assessment. The Town Council should expect to receive a written report from the engineer by Dec. 22, said McGovern.
In September, McGovern proposed a comprehensive review of the recycling center and transfer station to the Town Council as part of a 2016 fiscal-year capital stewardship plan to upgrade the facility. The proposal includes replacing the 37-year-old hopper and other aging compacting equipment, according to McGovern.
“We were planning to replace some of the compacting equipment and hopper in fiscal year 2016, but it is clear that the site has more challenges than just the condition of the compactor,” wrote McGovern in the capital stewardship plan. “One major issue we have is the age of the equipment and another, quite frankly, is the age of the population and the increasing problem we see many are having with backing up into the hopper area.”
The town also plans to work with Woodard & Curran to develop a long-term study regarding the safety of the recycling center and transfer station, he said.
At its Dec. 8 meeting, the Town Council appointed a five-member committee – consisting of a town councilor, a recycling committee member and three Cape Elizabeth residents – to look at long-term solutions for solid waste and recycling in the community.
Mark Dennison said the town should consider whether it would continue allowing residents to dispose of their household waste at the transfer station and reconfigure the facility to alleviate traffic congestion.
He suggested setting up temporary dumpsters in the nearby Gull Crest Field for residents to throw away their trash while the town decides how it will address safety.
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