Teen in fatal crash faces traffic charges

DOVER-FOXCROFT – A Sangerville teenager who police said caused a fatal motor vehicle accident earlier this year will be charged with two traffic violations.

Alex Ruksznis, 17, faces a count each of failure to keep right and improper passing in the June accident, which killed Gary Griffith, 55, a well-known Guilford businessman.

“We did not find sufficient evidence for manslaughter,” Piscataquis County District Attorney R. Christopher Almy said Wednesday after meeting earlier in the day with Griffith’s family.

For a manslaughter charge, the state would have had to prove Ruksznis acted in a grossly negligent manner, that he had been impaired by alcohol or drugs, or had been driving at a high speed, Almy said.

From the investigation conducted by the Piscataquis County Sheriff’s Department, the evidence indicated those were the two violations he committed, he said.

Police said Ruksznis was traveling northbound on Route 15 when he came upon a vehicle that had stopped in the northbound lane to make a left-hand turn onto Ellis Avenue.

Ruksznis pulled out to pass the stopped vehicle driven by Linwood Flanders, 84, of Guilford and collided head-on with Griffith, who was southbound on a 2001 Harley-Davidson motorcycle, according to sheriff’s investigator Guy Dow.

Griffith, owner of Iron Art Forge, was not wearing a helmet and suffered massive head injuries. Griffith was flown to Eastern Maine Medical Center in Bangor, where he died later in the day.

Stephen Cunningham, 54, of Sangerville, who was traveling on a motorcycle next to Griffith, was not injured in the accident.

Flanders told police he was waiting for the two motorcycles to pass and had activated his blinker when the accident occurred.

Ruksznis told police he came up behind the 2001 Pontiac driven by Flanders and saw it stop, but he did not see a blinker, according to Dow. Ruksznis also did not see the motorcycles as he veered into the passing lane to avoid a rear-end collision with the car, Dow said.

Neither Ruksznis nor Flanders was injured in the accident.

“It’s unfortunate that the way Maine laws are written that an incident like this could happen and the extent of the responsibility on the kid is he gets a couple of traffic violations,” Matthew Griffith of Portland, the victim’s son, said Wednesday.

Almy said the sheriff’s department “did an excellent job in reviewing the case and in gathering the evidence.” He said Maine State Police also reviewed the accident report.

Some of Griffith’s friends expressed concern early in the investigation about the fact that Ruksznis’ grandfather, Paul Ruksznis, was employed as a part-time deputy for the Piscataquis County Sheriff’s Department.

Almy said Wednesday that was not relevant to the case.

Matthew Griffith concurred with Almy. He said he did not believe that connection compromised the investigation. “I feel the investigation was complete,” he said.

“For the family, what really angers us is this kid is still allowed to drive,” Griffith said.

Almy said the information from the case will be forwarded to the Secretary of State’s Office for possible suspension of Ruksznis’ license.

Griffith said his family is working to change Maine’s “weak” motor vehicle laws. “It’s like there’s no consequences for their actions, and we’re upset about that,” he said.