The driver killed in a four-car wreck in Portland on Wednesday was heading home to Gorham when she crossed the center line and struck an oncoming vehicle, police said.

Stephanie Publicker, 70, died from injuries sustained in the wreck, said David Singer, police spokesperson. She was pronounced dead at the scene.

Publicker retired from a career as a medical research librarian two years ago, and was returning from a volunteer shift that morning at the Animal Refuge League of Greater Portland when the crash took place, said her daughter, Suzanna Mettham of Brooklyn, New York.

Stephanie Publicker Photo by Suzanna Mettham

She was married to Dr. Mark Publicker, a well known addiction medicine specialist in Maine who most recently worked at Mercy Hospital and retired around the same time as his wife.

In a retirement letter that Mark Publicker posted in late 2020, he reflected on his 40-year career and the contributions his wife made when he worked at Mercy Hospital as medical director of the hospital’s Recovery Center.

In 2009, he was named Caregiver of the Year by the Maine Hospital Association and in 2017, he received the American Society of Addiction Medicine’s annual award for outstanding contributions to the field.

“I helped to develop a maternal addiction program, perhaps the most rewarding thing in my career,” he wrote in his retirement letter. “And my wife Stephanie knitted baby outfits and made diaper bags for all the moms.”

Mettham described her mother as a “master quilter.”

“For every baby born in my dad’s practice, she would make them a quilt or diaper bag,” Mettham said.

Publicker’s younger sister, Wendy Osborne of Syracuse, New York, said her sister started sewing when she was 8 or 9 years old. She learned to sew on their mother’s sewing machine, which was stored in the family’s laundry room.

“She was a very caring person,” Osborne said. “She was the rock of our family.”

The couple lived in Italy in the 1970s before moving back to the United States. Stephanie attended the University of Pittsburgh where she earned a master’s degree in library science. They moved to Gorham in 2002, Mettham said.

Publicker grew up in Syracuse and was planning to visit Obsorne in upstate New York next week, the first time in two years they would have seen each other.

“I haven’t seen her since COVID,” Osborne said Thursday evening. “I was really looking forward to her coming to Syracuse next week.”

Kelly Bowden, a close friend from Naples, said Publicker’s friends and family are in shock over her death. They want to know what happened, but Portland police are still investigating.

During the pandemic, Bowden said, she enjoyed taking long walks with Publicker and their dogs. Both of their husbands enjoy cooking, so they ate a lot of dinners together during the pandemic. Bowden said one of the things she most admired about Publicker was her gentle, caring nature.

“She was probably one of the kindest persons you would ever meet,” Bowden said.

Mettham said her mother was an outgoing person who took care of others whenever she could.

“This year would have been their 50th wedding anniversary,”  Mettham said. “They’ve been together for 52 years. They really were looking forward to spending more time with their grandkids. The youngest is six months, and she’s really gonna miss her.”

Police continue to investigate the cause of the crash. They said four vehicles were involved and one other person sustained minor injuries. They do not expect to pursue criminal charges, Singer said.

The wreck took place around 11 a.m. in the vicinity of 832 Brighton Ave.

Publicker’s vehicle apparently struck other vehicles before it collided with a tree. Portland police closed a section of Brighton Avenue between Capisic Street and Wayside Road for several hours as they investigated and cleaned up.

Portland police are asking anyone who may have have witnessed the crash or have information to call 874-8532 or 874-8575.