Up until the troubling car crash of last Thursday, colleagues and associates have consistently offered assurances that state Sen. Andrew Maynard was doing just fine. Despite some trouble speaking connected to the serious brain injury he suffered in a fall at his home in July 2014, a Democratic Party spokesman and fellow legislators have insisted the 53-year-old senator is up to task of representing his constituents in the General Assembly.

Earlier this month, Sen. Maynard offered the same assurances in a flier sent to constituents in his 18th District, paid for by the state under the franking privileges provided to all state lawmakers.

“While I am still working on my speech — my heart, will and drive have allowed me to accomplish great things this last year," stated the mailer.

What the senator has not done since his re-election in November 2014 is to sit down with a news reporter, or with the editorial board of this or any newspaper. In other words, he will not discuss his health status, his views on the issues confronting the state, or explain the votes he took in the 2015 legislative session.

All comment has come via Adam Joseph, director of communications for the Senate Democrats. It has amounted to this: The senator is fine, trust us.

That does not appear the case. Last Thursday the senator caused a serious motor vehicle crash. His driving behavior suggests something was wrong with him.

This is what is now known. Sen. Maynard attended a caucus of Senate Democrats that afternoon, then departed to return to southeastern Connecticut. At around 3:30 p.m. his car collided with another vehicle on Route 32 in Waterford. The senator’s car was traveling in the wrong direction, going south in the northbound lanes. The driver of the other car, an SUV, reports the senator’s car was swerving. The four-lane highway is divided by a Jersey barrier. No person in his right mind should find his way into the wrong lane of travel. The senator’s car, after the collision, went down a small embankment. The severity of the damage to his car suggests it was traveling fast.

The senator, or someone on his behalf, quickly obtained the representation of one of the most successful personal injury law firms in the region, The Reardon Law Firm of New London. Attorney Robert Reardon said Sen. Maynard suffered a severe concussion along with bumps and bruises. Sen. Maynard remembers nothing since leaving Hartford, according to Mr. Reardon.

Lt. Dave Burton, an investigating officer with the Waterford police, said his department did not seek a search warrant to evaluate blood samples taken from the senator at the hospital because "we have not received any information" that would indicate he was intoxicated.

Doesn’t driving a car in the wrong lane of travel automatically raise suspicion of possible intoxication? Was the senator treated with deference that would not have been shown to an average citizen?

We strongly urge the senator to be fully transparent. He should authorize the evaluation of his blood samples to rule out any form of intoxication as a factor in this accident that could have easily killed him or someone else. And he should produce the documentation confirming he was checked and judged fit to drive.

When Sen. Maynard is sufficiently rested and healed, he needs to start communicating, and not through spokesmen or sunny political fliers. He needs to answer questions. While legal considerations might dissuade him from referencing this accident, it does not excuse him from talking about policy and his role as an elected official.

It is understandable that if the senator has difficulty with speech he would not be open to a traditional interview or press conference. But such a disability can be accommodated, with questions and responses typed and exchanged electronically around a meeting table. The editorial board has offered this accommodation just recently in an interview request.

If Sen. Maynard refuses to communicate, the conclusion must be that he is not able to cogently discuss matters of complex policy. And if that is the case, the right action would be step aside and allow for a special election.

If the senator completes this, his fifth two-year term, he will have served the necessary10 years to receive retirement health insurance under the state employee plan as well as a small pension. He would qualify when he reaches age 55 on July 14, 2017.

Staying in office should not be about qualifying for a great health insurance plan. It should not be about retaining a vote in the Senate for the Democratic Party. It must be about providing quality representation for the citizens of Griswold, Groton, North Stonington, Plainfield, Preston, Sterling, Stonington and Voluntown. Sen. Maynard needs to demonstrate he can do that.