Maine Maritime Accident: Four students from a Maine university were murdered in an SUV crash over the weekend, and the campus was mourning on Monday.
Early Saturday morning near Castine, only one day after the end of the autumn semester, a collision involving students from Maine Maritime Academy occurred, the cause of which is still under investigation by state police.
North Babylon, New York resident and 20-year-old driver Joshua Goncalves-2013 Radding’s Range Rover slammed into a tree and caught fire. Two other students, including Goncalves-Radding, were rescued and transferred to nearby hospitals.
“Mourn these young men in their memory. We will never forget them nor this moment in the history of Maine Maritime Academy,” Jerry Paul, the school’s president, said Sunday night at a candlelight vigil. “They were lost way too soon and before their watch was over. We will carry on for them and, at the appropriate time, ring eight bells in their honor.”
Brian Kenealy (age 20) from York, Maine, Chase Fossett (age 21) from Gardiner, Maine, Luke Simpson (age 22) from Rockport, Massachusetts, and Riley Ignacio-Cameron (age 20) from Aquinnah, Massachusetts, have all been confirmed dead.
In maritime culture, it is customary to honor the deceased by striking eight bells.
Principal Chad Kempton of Gardiner Area High School, where Fossett studied, told WMTW, “Chase was just a fantastic young man, super polite, respectful, a great citizen of our community, student-athlete, and had a lot of great friends that are hurting right now.”
Kenealy “was an amazing student-athlete who was beloved by his peers, faculty, and staff,” said Lou Goscinski, superintendent of the York School Department, in a statement.
“He took his skills to the Maine Maritime Academy, where he continued to excel academically and on the soccer field,” Goscinski added, according to WMTW. “Our thoughts and prayers are with Brian’s family and all who knew and loved him. Brian will be greatly missed.”
The four-year Maine Maritime Academy offers engineering, administration, science, and transportation programs in addition to its primary maritime education mission.
Tragic events had a profound effect on the close-knit neighborhood. About the same number of people live in Castine as attend Maine Maritime Academy. Some of the students that rushed to the scene active members of the local fire department. Keep yourself updated with all the latest news from our website Newswatchlist.com and get all the recent updates.