Reviewing Police Reports on Fatal Crashes

[Myles G. Smith]

Hello folks,

I have obtained the Portland Police Department's crash reports for the six crashes in which drivers of vehicles hit and killed pedestrians in 2024 and 2025.

If you would like to review and analyze the information with me, please reply to me in this thread. While these are public records, they contain identifying information of drivers, witnesses, victims, and investigating officers. We will not release personally identifiable information without a compelling public interest, and a vote. 

Myles

Chair, PBPAC

 

---------- Forwarded message ---------
From: Portland Bike Ped <pbpac...@gmail.com>
Date: Tue, Dec 9, 2025 at 3:36 PM
Subject: Re: [ppdtraffic] Request for information
To: Benjamin Noyes <be...@portlandmaine.gov>
Cc: Erin Clark <er...@portlandmaine.gov>, <myles...@gmail.com>, <winston....@gmail.com>, John Clark <jmcla...@gmail.com>, Nicole Albert <nal...@portlandmaine.gov>

Thank you for this, and for the details on Robert Macie, Sergeant Noyes. 

This info worked at the Maine state crash reporting database. It was not working when using crashdocs.org. We will let you know if we have other questions.

Best regards,

Myles

On Tue, Dec 9, 2025 at 11:53 AM Benjamin Noyes <be...@portlandmaine.gov> wrote:

Here is a list of all pedestrian/bicyclist fatal accidents from 2024 and 2025. I added Robert Macie, who you did not have on your request. I understand you are having an issue retrieving the reports online. I can print them and have them waiting at the front desk for you and you can pay the $75 fee (  $15 per report ) at the time of pick up if that works for you. 

1. Bradley Brookings, Sunday 3/2/2025   Report number 25-010927

2. Justin Mitchell, Sunday 2/23/2025 Report number 25-009606

3. Joe Lewis, Friday 1/3/2025  Report number 25-000445

4. Cynthia Karst, Wednesday 11/6/2024 Report number 24-062166
5. Robert Macie, Wednesday 11/27/2024 Report number 24-066189

Regards,

On Tue, Dec 9, 2025 at 11:05 AM Portland Bike Ped <pbpac...@gmail.com> wrote:

Hello Erin,

Thank you for the prompt replies. However, none of these reference numbers returned a result. All of them resulted in the following error screen:

I'm not sure what the issue is. Please provide that information which is needed to retrieve these public records.

Thank you in advance.

On Tue, Dec 9, 2025 at 10:54 AM Erin Clark <er...@portlandmaine.gov> wrote:

25-010927 Brookings

25-09606   Mitchell

25-000445 Lewis

25-062166 Karst 

On Tue, Dec 9, 2025 at 10:36 AM Portland Bike Ped <pbpac...@gmail.com> wrote:

Hello,

As part of our work to improve safety on our public streets, we would like to request PPD's crash reports for all crashes that resulted in the death of a pedestrian or cyclist in 2024 and 2025. 

Our understanding is that we need a report or reference number for each incident for which we are requesting a report. The incidents we are :

1. Bradley Brookings, Sunday 3/2/2025

   
   

2. Justin Mitchell, Sunday 2/23/2025

   
   

3. Joe Lewis, Friday 1/3/2025

   
   

4. Cynthia Karst, Wednesday 11/6/2024

If there are other crashes which killed cyclists or pedestrians from 2024 for which crash reports are available, we request that information as well. We do not have the names of the victims of those incidents.

Thank you in advance for your attention to this request.

Best regards,

Myles Smith, on behalf of the Portland Bicycle-Pedestrian Advisory Committee

https://www.portlandbikeped.org/ 

Notice: Under Maine law, documents - including e-mails - in the possession of public officials or city employees about government business may be classified as public records. There are very few exceptions. As a result, please be advised that what is written in an e-mail could be released to the public and/or the media if requested.

--

Sgt Ben Noyes

Traffic Division
Portland Police Department
109 Middle Street
Portland, ME 04101
(207)874-8554
be...@portlandmaine.gov

Notice: Under Maine law, documents - including e-mails - in the possession of public officials or city employees about government business may be classified as public records. There are very few exceptions. As a result, please be advised that what is written in an e-mail could be released to the public and/or the media if requested.

[Rauschpfeife]

I'd be happy to help out. I have some experience doing something similar in my previous life (in New York). 

-- 

Best, 

Michael Smith

anacharsis.substack.com

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[Scsmedia]

I would prefer you create a spread sheet of the relevant info which we can begin to update with additional incidents.  This should be in as few as hands as necessary.

Steven Scharf

--

[Rauschpfeife]

Getting to a spreadsheet (or even a downright database) is a good thing, although N=6 doesn't make much of a database. But the first step is inventorying what kinds of data you have. And what questions the data raise. So in my experience it starts with close reading. FWIW. 

-- 

Best, 

Michael Smith

anacharsis.substack.com

To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/PBPAC/1361201788.2946251.1765330101796%40mail.yahoo.com.

[George Rheault]

These are not double top secret documents but ordinary public records (that custom lets our government charge for a copy).  This group would like to understand (as best as these documents will tell us) what happened and summaries or telephone games around what the police reports say are less helpful than just letting everyone see them. 

No one in there has any expectation of privacy.  If you are involved in an accident on a public right-of-way, either directly or as a cooperating witness who willingly speaks to the police, you don't get to hide it later. 

Just redact the info that you feel is intrusive.  

No need to share street addresses (though town or zip code of witnesses could be pertinent) or anything that might have been collected that one would prefer to keep private (like date-of-birth) and last names could be blacked out.  But these documents would become very public in any civil or criminal actions surrounding the accidents including over insurance claims.

   

 

To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/PBPAC/1361201788.2946251.1765330101796%40mail.yahoo.com.

[Zack Barowitz]

Myles,

Please add me to this group. 

Thanks 

Zack 

207-838-6120

917-696-5649
ZacharyBarowitz.com

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[Todd Russell]

I'm interested in seeing the reports or at least the group's analysis of them. Blacking out the names, addresses, etc seems like a reasonable way to go.

To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/PBPAC/CAE741VCs4y9DEi7HZQLay9Y58giunV0zU3AGkNzMr_Oo7bqqJg%40mail.gmail.com.

[Myles G. Smith]

Hey George,

I think that may be what we do, eventually. But, the folks who are willing to put in the work reading, analyzing, and working on them would have to make those determinations and do the redactions.

Myles

On Tue, Dec 9, 2025 at 9:00 PM George Rheault <george....@gmail.com> wrote:

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[Markos Miller]

This is a great idea. I look forward to learning what the group discovers.

Markos