BLACKSTONE - As police searched for a snowplow truck that allegedly struck and killed a mother of five, word of the well-known woman's death sent a wave of grief across this small town on the Rhode Island border.
"The phones haven't stopped ringing today," said Nancy Davidge, senior vice president of retail banking and marketing at Dean Bank, where Rita Plante, 50, worked for eight years as a teller and was the bank's liaison with the town in coordinating the annual Christmas Toys for Tots drive.
"Customers have been calling and coming in to offer their condolences," said Davidge, standing near the teller's station where Plante worked. "This is a small community bank, and a lot of people from around here knew Rita."
Nearby, in a back office with glass walls, many of Plante's co-workers hugged each other and wiped away tears. Plante's sons visited the bank, near the center of town, just before noon yesterday and were consoled by the staff.
Plante was among at least three people believed to have been struck and killed by snowplows in New England since Sunday. Early yesterday in Woonsocket, R.I., an unidentified man was hit and killed, police said. On Sunday, a Lawrence woman was struck and killed on Route 114.
"I think the important thing to keep in mind is that if you do walk in the street where the sidewalks are uncleared, walk facing traffic, so if you see a plow or any vehicle you have an opportunity to get out of the way," said State Police Lieutenant Barry O'Brien. "Also, if you know you are going to be out there, you should wear reflective clothing, especially at night."
Plante ended her shift at 5 p.m. Tuesday and bought groceries from the Park 'n Shop supermarket next to the bank, said her son, Tim Plante, 28, of Blackstone. She then drove her red sport utility vehicle home, less than a mile away on Blackstone Street. But there was no parking space in front of the house, so she parked near Michelle Lane, about four houses away, her son said.
The sidewalk was not plowed, and Plante started walking home on the two-lane street. But a few yards from her car, she apparently was struck by a white pickup truck, which Police Chief Ross A. Atstupenas said may have been
Atstupenas said a neighbor of Plante's saw the truck stop momentarily and then drive off. The witness, Atstupenas said, did not know that someone had been hit until another vehicle, a car being driven by a local woman, hit Plante moments later.
The second driver, whose name police withheld, stopped and alerted police. She has not been cited. Atstupenas said his office has received about a dozen tips and is following up on leads in an effort to find the driver and the truck.
Tim Plante said he was talking on a telephone in his mother's house when the person on the other end said he had seen Plante's mother walking home about 10 minutes earlier. Plante said he put his trash outside, then called his mother's cellphone. "The person who was there picked up her phone. . . . They walked over here and told me it was my mother who was hit."
The victim's children, four sons and a daughter, range in age from 29 to 19, and she had four grandchildren, ranging in age from 6 to about a year old, Tim Plante said.
Tim Plante said his mother loved spending time with her grandchildren, taking them on long walks, and buying them ice cream from a local parlor during the summer. Rita Plante also loved to crochet and cook for her family.
"My mom grew up here, so she knows almost everyone in town," her son said. "The police chief, he's known her for about 20 years. They lived in the same building."
Plante said the town usually clears the sidewalks after it snows. "They didn't get to it this time; I don't know why," he said.
Town Administrator Kenneth M. Bianchi said the town of about 9,000 residents does not have enough equipment or workers to quickly clear all of its approximately 22 miles of sidewalks. "We've been working around the clock since the last snowstorm [Thursday], and we simply have not been able to get to many of our sidewalks yet. This is a sad day for all of us. Rita was a great lady."
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