Man killed in Falmouth hit-and-run remembered as loving father, generous friend
Oct. 17—Traces of Jedidiah Watson can be found with his family, whether between the pages of a Bible given to his youngest daughter or in the crucifix around his son's neck.
His mother, Mona Young, wears a necklace displaying his ashes. She keeps a golden guardian angel coin, neatly wrapped in a paper towel and tucked in her jacket pocket.
Young set up a colorful memorial along Gray Road in Falmouth, where Watson, also known as Jed, died in August.
She'd visit occasionally to replenish the bright decorations. But when she drove from her home in Poland to the site on Wednesday morning, the faux flowers and pinwheels were ripped up and strewn across the grass. It started to rain. Jed must be crying, she said.
On the afternoon of Aug. 6, Young said her 44-year-old son was pushing a shopping cart along the road before being killed in an apparent hit-and-run crash near 106 Gray Road. The driver, Colin Guimont, 40, of New Gloucester, was found around 2 1/2 hours later in a parking lot about half a mile from the scene of the crash, the Falmouth Police Department said.
Guimont was not immediately arrested because the investigation was ongoing, Lt. David St. Pierre said in a phone call on Wednesday. He was arrested Friday night and charged with leaving the scene of a motor vehicle accident that resulted in death — a Class C crime. He was released on personal recognizance, according to court documents.
Watson's family members are frustrated by the lack of information from police about the investigation. And they don't understand why charging Guimont took more than two months and why his charge is not more severe.
The Cumberland County District Attorney's Office declined to share further information about the case, including the reasoning behind the charge. And St. Pierre said because the district attorney is handling the case, the department can't share any more about the investigation or why it was delayed.
Watson grew up in Bath with his older siblings Tasha and Tim. He was loving, affectionate and always the first to crack a joke, said his sister, Tasha Buxton-Randolph.
He constantly talked about his three children and three stepchildren. When Layla, Jaden and Destiny Watson were born, he was the first to hold them, Young said.
Watson was smart and had a wandering spirit, Young said, but he just "couldn't get it all together." He struggled with homelessness, mental health issues and addiction for most of his adult life. He hoped to get an apartment and be more present in his children's lives, Young said.
"He didn't want his kids to see him like that," she said.
Watson's friend, Shay Dufour, said she met him in Portland when she also was experiencing homelessness. He cared for many people in that community, she said, but his main priority was making sure his children were safe.
"He never had a hateful bone in his body," Dufour said. "Even people that did him wrong when he was unhoused, he would just take it with a grain of salt and keep going."
He was forgiving and connected to his spirituality, Dufour said. He believed there was good in the world, she said. She gifted him the cross necklace, which he was wearing the day he died.
Waston kept a poem, titled "The Men That Don't Fit In," in his Bible, which describes some of the benefits and troubles of a nomadic lifestyle.
"That poem explains who he was within himself, how he felt about himself," Buxton-Randolph said.
Watson made efforts to help his friends and family with what he had, said Buxton-Randolph. When his mom would give him a few dollars to spend at the store, he'd make sure to buy some necessities for his friends who were homeless as well.
"As many demons as my brother had, mental health issues and substance abuse issues that went on and off throughout his adult life, he was very generous," Buxton-Randolph said.
Jaden Watson, 20, kept in touch with his father while the two lived in Portland's homeless shelters. When their family was stable, he said his father housed 14 of his friends.
"Everyone around here generally loved him," Jaden Watson said. "He's really good people, just always looking out for everyone else."
He said his father had housing vouchers and a plan to secure a place for him and his children. But the vouchers turned out to be expired, he said.
"He was really trying to fix his relationship with his kids as best as he could," Jaden Watson said.
After Watson's death, his family continues to donate to those struggling with homelessness. In her home, Buxton-Randolph keeps a stack of hand-crocheted mittens and hats to bring to Portland. She and Young made the same trip last year to bring the warm clothes to a methadone clinic, because they knew how difficult the living conditions were for Watson.
"It definitely has made us really step up and try to give more of a voice to the people who need it the most," Buxton-Randolph said, especially because of the way Watson died.
His ashes will be buried next week at their family plot at Glenside Cemetery in Winthrop, next to his grandmother and his older brother Tim, who died of cancer.
Standing by the memorial in Falmouth on Wednesday morning, Dufour felt a chill from the wind. She said it's time to take out the emergency blankets for her friends.
Dufour said although Watson was homeless, his "blood was red like everybody else's." He didn't deserve to be killed or have his memorial destroyed, she said.
"It's a sad day when we treat people like trash when they're homeless," Dufour said. "It's a human being's life. (He was) someone's son, father, uncle."
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