Hancock deputy's funeral set for Thursday at Cross Insurance Center in Bangor

Sep. 26—A funeral service for Hancock County Sheriff's Office Deputy Luke Gross will take place Thursday at the Cross Insurance Center in Bangor.

The funeral service is set for noon, according to his obituary. It will come a week after Gross was fatally hit by a pickup truck while responding to a call on Route 3 in Trenton.

At the time of the crash, Gross was wearing a reflective vest and picking up a piece of debris in the roadway, according to state police.

However, Gross had been "in the roadway improperly" when the collision occurred, according to a crash report the Ellsworth American reported. Timothy J. Badger, 55, of Levant was driving the truck that struck Gross, but has been cooperative and criminal charges are not expected.

On Thursday, people around the county and beyond remembered the way that the deputy genuinely cared about the people of Hancock County.

"He was an amazing man. Always there whenever anybody needed him," Christina Leeman Gramolini of Hancock said Thursday. "This is a huge, huge loss."

Gross was serving as a member of the Hancock School Board at the time of his death. He was a camp counselor at CAMP POSTCARD and served as a DARE Officer for Hancock County. He also took part in sheriff's department charities that helped purchase Christmas gifts for children in Hancock County.

"The world needs more like Luke in law enforcement," Hancock County Sheriff Scott Kane said.

An honorable procession took place on Sunday starting from the Mitchell-Tweedie Funeral home in Bucksport and finishing at Mount Hope Cemetery in Bangor, WGME reported.

Gross is survived by his wife of almost 15 years, Lauren (Bosse) Gross, and his children Ryan, 13, and Alissa, 9, his obituary said.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Hancock County Sheriff's Charities, DARE, or to the family c/o Hancock County Sheriff's Office, 50 State St., Ellsworth, ME 04640.

More articles from the BDN