Miller went on to explain that the original accident investigation had been badly compromised from the very beginning.

The private contractor the county had hired to oversee road safety had falsified several maintenance reports to cover up structural hazards.

That same contractor was secretly tied to a major municipal communications project that was illegally using the unpaved service trail to haul unapproved heavy equipment through the state forest without proper permits.

“Was what they were doing completely illegal?” Paige asked sternly.

“A large part of it was very illegal,” Miller admitted frankly.