11-year-old boy dies in ATV accident

DEER ISLE – Pupils at Deer Isle Stonington Elementary School spent much of Tuesday dealing with the loss of one of their classmates.

Sixth-grader Joseph L. Brown, 11, died Monday in an ATV accident on Deer Isle.

The boy had many close friends and relatives in the student population and on the staff, according to Principal Catherine Ring.

“This has hit us pretty hard,” she said.

Ring described Brown as a popular child who was involved in activities including basketball, chess and karate.

“He was a well-liked child by both students and adults,” she said. “He will be sorely missed.”

The elementary school had started its year last week, with Joseph entering the sixth grade. On Tuesday, the school implemented its crisis intervention plan, meeting early with crisis team members and then the faculty, and also brought in additional counselors to help pupils who might be upset by the incident, Ring said.

Although many of the youngsters already had heard the news, faculty members began the day by making an announcement about what had happened.

“It was important for them to hear it from us as well,” she said.

There is a wide variety of age groups in the elementary school, Ring said, and the crisis team had met with faculty members to discuss ways to talk with pupils about the incident.

“We allowed them time to talk and express their feelings,” she said.

After an extended adviser meeting to start the day, pupils and teachers went on to a normal day but counselors remained at different locations in the building to meet with youngsters individually or in groups. Some pupils, especially those who had classes with Brown, did meet with those counselors.

Teachers also provided pupils with a number of activities they could do that might be helpful to Brown’s family, Ring said. Pupils made cards, drew pictures and wrote poems, all of which will be forwarded to the family, she said.

The accident occurred at about 4 p.m. Monday, according to Mark Latti, a spokesman for the Maine Warden Service. The boy was riding alone on a gravel road off Route 15 in Deer Isle. He was headed toward a gravel pit, a popular spot for ATV riders, when he struck a cable strung across the gravel road, Latti said. Brown was wearing a helmet at the time of the accident.

He was taken to Blue Hill Memorial Hospital where he later was pronounced dead.

The accident remains under investigation, Latti said.