Father sues truck driver over daughter’s death

BANGOR – The father of a toddler killed in an accident two years ago in Lincoln has sued the driver of the truck that struck his daughter.

Joshua C. Ryder of Lincoln filed the lawsuit last month in Penobscot County Superior Court against Robert W. Donath of Lincoln. The suit charges that Donath was driving negligently when he struck and killed 19-month-old Daisy Cadaan Ryder on Aug. 26, 2002.

The girl was struck at about 5:30 p.m. in the driveway of the Main Street apartment building in Lincoln where she lived with her parents and brother. She died a short time later at Penobscot Valley Hospital in Lincoln.

Former Lincoln Police Chief Richard Mayo called the accident a “tragedy” on Aug. 26, 2002. He said that Donath left the apartment building, got into his 2002 Chevrolet pickup truck and started forward. He had gone only a few feet when an unidentified person yelled, “Stop, stop.”

“Evidently, the child was right in front of him and at that point, the child had been struck by the pickup truck,” Mayo said.

The girl’s mother, Nettie A. Ryder of Lincoln, witnessed her daughter’s death and has expressed emotional distress since the event, according to the lawsuit.

Donath was never charged in the incident, Joshua Ryder’s attorney, A.J. Greif of Bangor, said Friday.

The lawsuit is seeking damages to recover more than $5,000 in medical and funeral expenses. It also is seeking an unspecified amount to compensate the Ryders for the loss of their daughter’s comfort, society and companionship.