Danila Belov Killed in Bucket Truck Accident on Main St in Rangeley, ME
UPDATE (January 19, 2023): The victim of this accident has been identified as 24-year-old New York man Danila Belov. The circumstances of the accident that took Belov's life are still under investigation.
Rangeley, ME — January 16, 2023, a man was fatally injured after falling out of a utility truck's bucket on Main Street in Rangeley.
Authorities say the incident happened shortly before 10:50 a.m. on southbound Main Street (Route 4). Preliminary investigation suggests that a Ford Econoline van with a bucket lift attachment was driving south on the roadway when the bucket allegedly struck some utility wires suspended across the road by poles.
After hitting the wires the man, thought to have been riding in the bucket, fell out and suffered fatal injuries. The van's driver was unhurt.
The investigation is ongoing. No further information is currently available.
Looking over what the press was able to say about this accident, I have to assume there's more to the story and authorities are still trying to work it out. The provided details, if accurate, give a rough idea of what happened but now it's important to bring that picture into focus. What were those men, both described as subcontractors for an Illinois telecom company, doing on Main Street that day? Were they on a job? If the van was in transit, why was the victim riding in the bucket and not inside? How fast was it traveling? Was the bucket extended at all? What was the clearance of those wires? Was there any signage warning passing drivers about it?
Those questions and the many others like them aren't about complicating this matter, they're about clarifying it. A man lost his life but it's really not clear how or why yet, and I think most would agree his loved ones deserve as much information as can be obtained. I just hope authorities' eventual findings will give them some real answers.
