Retired police officer dies after hit on motorcycle

TRENTON – A Southwest Harbor man who worked for the Bar Harbor Police Department for 23 years died Wednesday after the motorcycle he was riding was struck by a pickup truck on Route 3, according to police.

Hylie Hall, 69, was driving his Honda motorcycle south on the highway around 2:30 p.m. when a Ford Ranger driven by Vaughn Mitchell, 70, of Trenton turned left into his path while trying to get onto Route 230, Maine State Police Trooper Cliff Peterson said. The left front fender of the truck struck Hall’s motorcycle, causing the motorcycle to go off the road, Peterson said.

Peterson said at the scene that Hall sustained serious leg injuries but that the complete extent of Hall’s injuries were unknown.

The trooper said later Wednesday evening that he had been told by the state Medical Examiner’s Office that Hall since had died from his injuries.

The former Bar Harbor officer died after being flown by LifeFlight helicopter from Hancock County Bar Harbor Airport, which is just up the road from the accident scene, to Eastern Maine Medical Center in Bangor.

After the accident, Hall’s motorcycle lay on its side in the driveway of the Open Hearth Motel. The motorcycle’s gas tank, which is painted with images of white tigers, had a large dent in it from the impact of the collision.

Peterson said the cause of the accident was driver inattention on the part of Mitchell. He said a report on the accident will be submitted to the Hancock County District Attorney’s Office for review.

Bar Harbor resident Harry Luhrs, a friend of Hall, said at the accident scene that they had gone to Blue Hill on their motorcycles to have lunch and were on their way home when the accident occurred. He said he was about 30 to 40 yards behind Hall when the truck turned into Hall’s path.

“We try to keep a safe distance from each other,” Luhrs said of his motorcycle rides with Hall.

Hall’s wife, Carla Hall, said Wednesday afternoon that her husband had retired from the Bar Harbor Police Department in 1993 and worked part time for the Southwest Harbor Police Department for several years. She said she had just gotten home from her job at the Bayview Hotel in Bar Harbor when she heard about the accident.

“I had just walked in the door when he called,” she said, pointing to Luhrs as she stood on the side of Route 3 next to her husband’s wrecked motorcycle.

Bar Harbor Town Manager Dana Reed said Wednesday evening he did not know Hylie Hall that well because he had not worked with him for long before the police officer retired.

“Hylie certainly was a dedicated officer,” Reed said. “He will be missed around the [Mount Desert Island] community.”

Peterson said Mitchell was wearing a seat belt at the time of the accident and was not injuried. He said both the truck and the motorcycle were demolished.