Husband of Maine professor who died in crash sues cable company, snowplow contractor

By Jim Greene

Published on November 29, 2005

The husband of a University of Maine professor who died after her car was struck by a cable company van is suing the owner and the driver of the van and a snowplow contractor.

The wrongful death lawsuit filed by Steven Alexander over the death of his wife Michele accuses Adelphia Cablevision Corp. of negligence for employing a van with bald tires and for allowing Adrian Miller to operate a company van in spite of a record of citations for unsafe driving. Philip Mitchell is accused of negligence for not properly plowing snow from the road on which the car crash occurred.

According to the suit, Michele Anderson was driving to UM on Dec. 16, 2003, on a snow-covered road near Glenburn when the van driven by Miller struck her car. She died later that day of injuries suffered in the crash. Her 11-month-old son Camden, who was in a child's car seat in the back seat of the car, was not seriously injured.

Anderson lost control of her car while driving well under the 35 mph posted speed limit, according to the suit, and went into a spin because the road was not properly plowed or sanded.

The suit alleges that Miller was driving at the posted speed limit for the road when his van struck Miller's car, but that his speed was much too fast for the snowy road conditions.

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