A Maine man is dead after a high-speed pursuit involving a sheriff’s deputy ended in a head-on crash with a tractor trailer in Waterford earlier this week.

The Oxford County Sheriff’s Office announced Friday that Thomas Welch, 42, of Porter, had died Monday following an incident on Route 93 southbound, otherwise known as Sweden Road.

According to the sheriff’s office, Sgt. Timothy Ontengco was engaged in a high-speed pursuit of a Honda Goldwing motorcycle around 10 a.m. on Sept. 30 when the motorcycle crossed the center line in the vicinity of Haskell Hill Road and crashed head on into a tractor trailer unit traveling northbound.

Sgt. Ontengco, along with witnesses, performed CPR and attempted to provided first aid to the motorcycle driver of the motorcycle, but those measures were unsuccessful and the motorcyclist was pronounced dead at the scene, officials said.

The man was later identified as Welch. Officials say his motorcycle, a 1986 Honda GL1200, was registered out of New Hampshire.

The tractor trailer, a blue 2025 Peterbilt, was registered to Dube Environmental Inc. out of Sidney, Maine, and was being being driven by 52-year-old Shawn Witham.

Witham, of Rome, Maine, was not injured in the crash, police say. The tractor trailer, which was hauling sewerage from Fryeburg Fair, was disabled as a result of the crash. There were no environmental concerns, however, as the trailer was intact.

Officials have not said why Sgt. Ontengco was pursuing Welch on the motorcycle.

The Maine Attorney General’s Office, the Oxford County District Attorney’s Office, and the Maine State Police were notified of the fatality, which is in compliance with all required reporting procedures and Sheriff’s Office standard operating policies.

Several agencies are involved with the ongoing investigation of this motor vehicle fatality, the sheriff’s office said.

When someone told cannabis educator Casey Sanginario that a Boston-based company was selling a domestic robot that grows cannabis using artificial intelligence, she waived it off as entirely non-credible.

“My first thought was, there’s no way,” Sanginario said with a laugh after describing herself as a cannabis snob. “I’m in groves all the time. I have a lot of grow experience. Some of my best friends are growers. It’s a really complicated process – PH levels, humidity levels, temperature, regulation – bugs. The plant attracts bugs!”

Annaboto was founded two years ago with an aspiration to hydroponically solve food insecurity – allowing people to easily grow plant-based food at home. The uptake on that idea was slow so they pivoted to cannabis. Interest isn’t slow anymore. They’ve sold hundreds of units – shipping them around the country where cannabis is legal.

“People who use cannabis for health and wellness want something that’s clean – pesticide-free – and consistent so you can dose it accordingly,” said Annaboto Founder and CEO Carl Palme. “When you grow at home you get all those benefits, but growing at home is so challenging.”

The Justice Department officially proposed reclassifying marijuana as a less dangerous drug. News4’s Jackie Bensen explains how it would ease restrictions on cannabis on the federal level if approved.

The promise of Annaboto is simplicity. All that’s needed are seeds and water. The robot does everything else: how much light to deploy, how many nutrients to dose – even when to turn on a fan to regulate odor. Plus, the robot’s artificial intelligence technology sends back lessons learned so the next 90-day harvest is supposed to be better than the last.

“We have machines all over the US and in Mexico. We’re learning from people growing in Arizona, Massachusetts and California and all of that information is being relayed back to us. The more data we get, the better the AI performs,” Palme said.

Boston College quarterback Thomas Castellanos will return to the lineup this weekend after missing the Eagles’ Week 5 win over Western Kentucky.

The junior from Waycross, Georgia, missed last week’s 21-20 win with an undisclosed injury. According to a report from ESPN’s Pete Thamel on Friday, Castellanos is preparing to start Saturday’s game against Virginia on the road.

FIU transfer Grayson James drew the start in Castellanos’ place last week, but Boston College struggled to get a grip on its game against the Hilltoppers. BC went into the fourth quarter at home trailing WKU 20-7, but rallied for a win.

James had a 1-yard rushing score with 11:36 to play and then threw an 8-yard touchdown pass with 3:33 to play that served as the game-winner.

Castellanos returning to the fold offers the Eagles a boost. Thanks in part to his dual-threat ability, Boston College earned early-season wins over Florida State and Michigan State and nearly toppled Missouri on the road.

On the season, Castellanos is completing 64.3% of his passes for 729 yards with 10 touchdowns against 2 interceptions. He also has 112 rushing yards and a score in 4 games.

Boston College (4-1, 1-0 ACC) meets Virginia (3-1, 1-0) at noon ET on Saturday. The game will be broadcast on ACC Network. Virginia is a 1-point favorite at ESPN Bet, but BC is looking to open league play 2-0 for the first time since 2007.