Tragedy Upon Tragedy in North Yarmouth and Gray

First he lost his wife to suicide...now Jay Westra was arrested for OUI after an accident that killed a mother of four.

According to the Portland Press Herald, Jay Westra is 58 and from North Yarmouth. He was charged with killing 40-year-old Samanta Rinaldi from Gray who was walking on Yarmouth Road in Gray Saturday night.

If his name rings a bell, he was the husband of Kristin Westra who went missing last fall, before her body was found in the woods in North Yarmouth by kids playing. Her death was ruled a suicide. She was a beloved Chebeague Island teacher...

Jay put on Facebook that day,

My heart was crushed today.

Jay's 11-year-old daughter was in the car during the accident.

Samantha Rinaldi was the mother of four children and they are obviously very upset. Her oldest child 20 year old Christian Ballard, is quoted by the Press Herald as saying,

There is no excuse for drunk driving and the fact that he had an 11-year-old child in the car. Everyone has tragedy in their lives. You don’t have to act in such a manner that would take someone else’s life.

Jay Westra was taken to Jail and then released on bail. There could be more charges when the full investigation is done. That could take 2 to 3 weeks.