A woman who was struck and killed by a tractor-trailer in the Auburn Wal-Mart parking lot early Thursday had been charged by police with possessing intoxicants less than an hour earlier, but officers said they had no reason to detain her.

Kassandra Lavoie, 33, of Mechanic Falls was charged about 12:30 a.m. with shoplifting three aerosol containers of air duster earlier and with unlawful use or possession of inhalants. The aerosol spray cleaner is sometimes inhaled to produce a dangerous and addictive high.

Police were called back to the Wal-Mart parking lot at 100 Mount Auburn Ave. about 1 a.m. after Lavoie had been struck and killed by the tractor-trailer.

Hasan Williams, 40, of Tobyhanna, Pennsylvania, had been resting in his 2014 Freightliner and drove the truck toward the store to use its restroom, Deputy Police Chief Jason Moen said. It was rainy, and he did not see Lavoie, who was wearing dark clothing, Moen said. The investigation will determine whether she was walking or lying down in the lot.

Police were originally called to Wal-Mart at 12:22 a.m. for a report of a suspicious person in the parking lot and found Lavoie. She told officers she had recently used the inhalants but was no longer impaired, Moen said.

“It’s a fairly short intense high that’s usually cleared up in a couple minutes,” Moen said. “She was fine.”

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“They probably spent 20 to 25 minutes with her, had a long, lengthy conversation with her about her activities; (she) was coherent and refused any kind of medical treatment,” he said. The officers confiscated the cans. “Based on what officers saw, she was fine to go on her way.”

She was last seen walking through the parking lot toward Turner Street.

Williams has not been charged in the case. Moen declined to provide the police report on the incident because it remains under investigation by Auburn police and Maine State Police.

Moen said it is department policy to call rescue workers to do a medical evaluation when someone is impaired to the point of being unsafe.

“She did not give any signs of incapacitation,” he said. “She was not a harm to herself or anybody else and they did not have any kind of probable cause to take her into custody.”

The manager of the Auburn Wal-Mart declined to comment Thursday and a spokeswoman for the national chain, Erin Hofmann, referred all questions concerning the incident to Auburn police.

“We were called by the police this morning (Thursday). It’s tragic, but we have to refer any questions about this to the police,” Hofmann said.

Staff Writer Scott Dolan contributed to this report.


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