OAKLAND — Police have identified the 37-year-old man critically injured when he was struck by a train Sunday as Drew Roy of Oakland, who was charged with a string of burglaries in town last week.
Oakland Deputy Police Chief Rick Stubbert said Tuesday that there is no connection between the burglaries and the train accident.
Roy was airlifted to Central Maine Medical Center in Lewiston between 10:30 and 11 p.m. Saturday after he was struck by a westbound train
Drew Roy Contributed photo
while walking along the tracks near the intersection of Oak and Main streets, according to Stubbert.
Roy was in critical condition Monday, but Oakland police said they were unsure of his status Tuesday. A hospital employee declined to answer questions regarding Roy’s condition.
“I’ve handled a whole bunch of train accidents in my career,” said Oakland Sgt. Tracey Frost. “I used to work for the railroad police. It takes a long time (to recover). Those are very, very, very traumatic injuries. I’d expect him to be in rough shape for some time.”
Stubbert said it is illegal to walk on the railroad tracks. Oakland police have concluded their investigation and passed the case on to Pan Am Railways police, who have authority over the tracks. Cynthia Scarano, spokeswoman for the railway, said she will be meeting with the police unit Wednesday and will not have any updates on the case until then.
Stubbert said train-related accidents are uncommon in Oakland.
Roy was arrested Wednesday night in Fairfield and charged with burglaries at Messalonskee High School, Early Bird Restaurant and Oakland House of Pizza on July 29. He was charged with three counts of burglary, three counts of theft and one count of aggravated criminal mischief. He was released on $6,000 unsecured bail. Members of the public helped police identify Roy after Oakland authorities posted surveillance images on Facebook that showed a man wearing a baseball hat walking away with items during one of the burglaries.
Prior to those incidents, Stubbert said, Roy had “nothing major” on his criminal record.
A 17-year-old who attends Messalonskee High School was also arrested and charged in connection with the three burglaries, as well as two others at the American Legion and Atwood Primary School. A second juvenile student at Messalonskee High School had assisted with the Atwood break-in and was issued a summons.
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