Police have not yet decided whether to file criminal charges against the man who drove his truck into the back of a riding lawnmower on a Corinna road, killing the lawnmower’s driver.

Corinna resident Dana Doherty, 79, was driving the mower on the extreme right of Corinna Center Road when the accident happened Wednesday evening, according to Sgt. William Sheehan of the Penobscot County Sheriff’s Office.

Sheehan said Doherty was less than two-tenths of a mile from his home, and was on his way home from buying milk at Simpson View Farm across the road.

The lawnmower was knocked over and badly damaged, Sheehan said. He said a garden cart being towed behind the lawnmower was demolished.

The truck, a 2002 Ford Explorer, was being driven by a Garland man whose name police did not release.

Julie Simpson, who owns the farm with her husband Ron Simpson, said Doherty came over to buy milk a couple of times each week.

“He was a great neighbor,” she said. “He was a Mr. Fixit and could do anything, could fix anything.”

Doherty used to make the trip on foot, but had taken to riding the lawnmower within the past year.

“It was probably easier to lug two gallons of milk that way,” she said.

Simpson said that sometimes he would get his milk and go, but other times he would stay to talk about local events, always wearing his signature green Dickies.

Simpson said Doherty and his wife are well-known in the local community and could often be seen dancing together at local wedding receptions.

Simpson said she and others in the area have been worried about the high speeds of cars traveling on Corinna Center Road.

“People go so fast on that road nowadays,” she said. “You can’t hardly walk on it anymore.”

Sheehan said police are in the process of reconstructing the accident and analyzing forensic evidence that was collected at the site of the crash.

He said that such investigations typically take about 30 days to complete.

Matt Hongoltz-Hetling can be contacted at 861-9287 or at mhhetling@centralmaine.com

Twitter: @hh_matt