A driver in Cape Elizabeth, whose vehicle hit a former public works director and pushed him into a trash compactor at the town’s recycling center, will not be charged in the incident.

On Nov. 24, 2014, Christine Sharp-Lopez, 72, was backing her Ford Explorer at a high rate of speed near the facility’s compactor building when she struck 79-year-old Herbert Dennison, who was walking his trash to the building.

According to police, the force of the collision pushed Dennison through a chain link fence into the compactor where he died of injuries sustained in the fall. The compactor, located on Dennison Drive, was not operating during the time of the accident, police said.

Cape Elizabeth Police Chief Neil Williams on Wednesday said that the Cumberland County District Attorney’s Office determined no criminal charges would be filed against the driver. He also confirmed that Sharp-Lopez was not under the influence of alcohol during the accident, and that her vehicle’s brakes did not malfunction.

“There were no mechanical defects that led to the accident,” he said.

Tamara Getchell, the business and communication coordinator for District Attorney Stephanie Anderson, said since the case is filed under “confidential criminal history information,” further details of the investigation will not be released.

“It’s protected information,” said Getchell. “I can’t release information regarding a prosecutorial decision to proceed, or not to proceed, on criminal charges.”

Also on Wednesday, a new, short-term traffic pattern went into effect at the recycling center. The new pattern does not allow users of the facility to back their vehicles into the compactor building.

Instead, residents will drive their vehicles forward into four diagonal parking spaces, located a short distance from the compactor, and walk their trash to the building. They will then drive their vehicles away from the building in a forward direction only, according to the new design, recommended by consultants of Portland engineering firm Woodard & Curran.

More information about the new traffic pattern can be viewed on the town’s website at www.capeelizabeth.com.