STANDISH – In what has been described as a “tragic accident,” a Standish man was killed Saturday night in the pit area at Beech Ridge Motor Speedway.

According to Detective Sgt. Rick Rouse, spokesman for the Scarborough Police Department, the incident happened at around 11:30 p.m., more than an hour after the checkered flag fell on the final race of the night.

Rouse said Gregory Rowe, 47, a resident of the Steep Falls section of Standish, was believed to have been standing on the bumper of a truck, possibly straddling the tongue of a race car trailer it was hauling, as he hitched a ride to his own vehicle, when he apparently slipped and fell under the trailer, which then ran him over.

Rouse said the trailer and Ford F-150 pickup, driven by Timothy Hatch, 32, of Standish, was traveling less than 15 miles per hour at the time.

“Beech Ridge has been open since the ‘50s. That’s probably the first time something like that has ever happened,” said Rouse. “It’s a tragic accident.”

Efforts to revive Rowe, who works in the crew for the Sally Gherardi-Hatch race team, were unsuccessful. He was declared dead at the track, said Rouse.

Track owner Andy Cusack was not available for comment by deadline. A person who answered the phone at the speedway office declined to say when the track last experienced a fatality, on or off the track.

“We have a privacy policy. Even saying that puts racing in a bad light,” he said.

The track posted an official notice on its Facebook page:

“We at Beech Ridge Motor Speedway would like to take this opportunity to express our heartfelt condolences to one of our race teams and its families following an unfortunate loss late Saturday night,” it read. “We know the entire Beech Ridge community shares in your grieving process and will continue to hold you in its thoughts and prayers.”

According to his obituary, Rowe was raised in Gorham and worked at Hunting Dearborn Inc., a precision tubing manufacturer in Fryeburg.

The obituary lists Rowe’s three loves as the outdoors, his daughter, Marissa, along with “racing and being part of the team.”

Rouse, one of two officers patrolling the pit area Saturday, said Rowe’s death is considered an accident. Police do not plan to press charges, he said.