St. Albans man’s death ruled accidental after police probe

ST. ALBANS – The death of a St. Albans man two weeks ago in a fall has been ruled an accident following a police investigation, according to Maine State Police Lt. Gary Wright.

Joseph Simonds, 31, died May 11, two days after falling down a set of stairs from the second floor to the first floor at his Nokomis Road home, Wright said Monday.

Simonds was found fatally injured by his 11-year-old daughter when she got off the school bus.

Simonds was taken by LifeFlight Air Ambulance to Eastern Maine Medical Center in Bangor and died Thursday, May 11, Wright said.

Wright said that state police detectives went to the scene following Simonds’ accident and then returned the next day to continue to investigate. He said this is typical after any unattended death.

“We simply need to figure out what happened,” Wright said. “In this case, Mr. Simonds fell down a set of stairs.”

“Our investigation, along with the medical examiner’s report, concluded that the cause of death was accidental,” Wright said.

An autopsy concluded that the head injuries that Simonds sustained were consistent with the fall he took.