A Maine mother of 4 was killed when she was struck by an alleged drunk driver
The accused, 58-year-old Jay Westra, is a widower who was in the news last fall after his wife went missing. Her death was ruled a suicide.
A mother of four was struck and killed in an alleged drunken driving crash Saturday night in Gray, Maine, according to authorities.
Jay Westra.
Jay Westra, 58, of North Yarmouth, was behind the wheel of a silver 2015 Honda Civic when he hit 40-year-old Samantha Rinaldi near 39 Yarmouth Road, the Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement.
Authorities responded to the scene around 7:46 p.m. for a report of a pedestrian hit by a vehicle. Rinaldi was found unresponsive and brought to Maine Medical Center in Portland, where she died, according to officials.
Westra, charged with operating under the influence of an intoxicating liquor, is the widower of Kristin Westra, an elementary school teacher who was found dead of an apparent suicide after she was reported missing in October.
His 11-year-old daughter was in the car at the time of the crash, the statement said.
Rinaldi, a Portland High School graduate and Gray resident, was the mother of Christian Ballard, 20, Griffin Ballard, 16, Jaden Ballard, 15, and Kali Ballard, 14, her former husband, Aaron Ballard, told the Portland Press Herald.
40-years-old. Mother of 4. Samantha Rinaldi was killed by a suspected drunk driver in Gray over the weekend. The heartbreaking twist: the driver, Jay Westra, lost his wife to suicide just months ago. https://t.co/Y1Dwa0Or6G #wakeMEup #NEWSCENTERmaine pic.twitter.com/ZJ1xdqd4W6
— Zach Blanchard (@ZachBlanchard) April 29, 2019
He described her as a good mother who “liked spending time with her kids.”
“There is no excuse for drunk driving and the fact that he had an 11-year-old child in the car,” Ballard told the newspaper about the crash. “Everyone has tragedy in their lives. You don’t have to act in such a manner that would take someone else’s life.”
https://www.facebook.com/cumberlandcountyso/posts/10157143570306788?__tn__=-R
Kristin Westra, 47, was reported missing after she was last seen on Sept. 30, 2018, at the family’s North Yarmouth residence. Her husband said at the time that she was gone when he awoke the following morning, although her cellphone, keys, and car remained at home.
An effort to find her lasted several days before her body was discovered in the woods near the house. Her death was ruled a suicide.
Jay Westra was arrested at the scene of Saturday’s crash and brought to the Cumberland County Jail, officials said. He was released on bail, the Press Herald reports.
Additional charges could be filed as authorities continue their investigation, according to the newspaper. He is due back in court on June 12.
