Newport couple sue over daughter’s death

SKOWHEGAN – The parents of Jenni L. Bemis, who was killed in a car accident on Route 100 in Palmyra a year and a half ago, have filed a civil wrongful death suit against the man they say was driving Bemis’ car.

Eileen and Keith Bemis of Newport have sued Stephen McCarron, 20, of Detroit for damages and losses. No dollar amount was specified in the suit.

The lawsuit stated that McCarron was driving Bemis’ car, a 1995 Ford Escort in which she was a passenger, at “an excessive speed” in the early morning hours of May 30, 2000.

Police who responded to the midnight accident have estimated the car’s speed at around 100 miles per hour when it left the road, nosed into a ditch and was vaulted into the air. Bemis, also 20, was ejected from the car and died later that day after being airlifted from the scene. McCarron, who later told police he was not driving, received serious injuries. According to the police, the pair was not dating but they were acquaintances.

After a 12-month investigation and reconstruction of the crash, McCarron was indicted and arrested in May, a year after the accident occurred.