Maine homicides at record low in 2000 Deaths in fires, on roadways lower than the previous year, figures show

As expected, Maine had a record low number of homicides in the year 2000, and the number of fire deaths and highway deaths improved from the previous year, according to the Maine Public Safety Department.

The state ended the year with 11 homicides, which is the lowest figure since the state began keeping detailed records 30 years ago, said Stephen McCausland, the agency’s spokesman. The previous low was 16 in 1993.

The figure is less than half of the historical average for the state. The worst year on record was 1989, with 40 homicides.

The number of fire deaths was 17, including a victim from a November fire in Rumford who succumbed to his injuries last week.

The worst fire was in Unity, where 6-year-old triplets died Jan. 13 in a blaze started by one of the children playing with a lighter. Waldo County Sheriff Robert Jones suffered a fatal heart attack while helping to fight the blaze.

The 17 fire fatalities in 2000 compare to 24 in 1999, 15 in 1998, 16 in 1997, 17 in 1996 and 12 in 1995, the safest year on record, McCausland said. The worst year for fire deaths was 1967, when there were 70 deaths.

The numbers marked a continuing downward trend. The state averaged 49 fire deaths per year in the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s before the average dropped to 32 in the 1980s and 20 in the 1990s, McCausland said.

As of New Year’s Day, the number of highway deaths stood at 169, which compared to 178 in 1999, and 192 in 1997 and 1998. The highest number of highway deaths was 276 in 1970 and the lowest in modern times was 166 in 1982.

The worst fatal accident in 2000 occurred in May in Cornville, where a woman drove into the path of a logging truck. Four lives were claimed, including the driver’s three children aged 1 to 7.

Authorities decided last month not to bring charges against Stacy Corson, 25, of West Athens, who ran a stop sign.

The declining number of highway fatalities corresponds with a drop in the number of accidents attributed to alcohol, McCausland.

In 1999, 28.2 percent of Maine’s fatal accidents involved alcohol, he said. That’s less than half the percentage from 20 years ago, when 60 percent of highway deaths were alcohol related.